ANGOSTURA BITTERS

 bitter herbs — literally, “bitters” - to remind the Israelites of their affliction in Egypt, and morally of the trials to which God’s people are subject on account of sin.

Angostura Bitters

Angostura bitters is a compound made primarily from gentian (genus Gentiana), a flowering plant with bitter-tasting leaves. Gentians are native to temperate regions from Asia to Europe to North America, with some of its many species found in northwestern Africa, eastern Australia, and the Andes. Gentians can be annuals, biennials, or perennials.
J.G.B. Siegert, a German physician living in Angostura,

Venezuela, first developed Angostura bitters in 1824 as a remedy for stomach maladies. Although the compound did not perform as expected, it was exported to England and Trinidad, where it was adopted as an ingredient in cocktails, as the bitters do help in mild cases of nausea or upset stomach. Angostura bitters is generally about 45 percent alcohol by volume.
Angostura bitters can also be added to soups, glazes for poultry or pork, turkey stuffings, fish dishes, even tomato sauces, custards, and fruit medleys.

Bitters are mentioned in the Bible (Exodus 12:8, Young's Literal Translation) but the reference is probably to bitter
herbs.

Over (upon) bitter herbs they shall eat it.” מְרֹרִים, πικρίδες (lxx), lactucae agrestes (Vulg.), probably refers to various kinds of bitter herbs. Πικρίς, according to Aristot. Hist. an. 9, 6, and Plin. h. n. 8, 41, is the same as lactuca silvestris, or wild lettuce; but in Dioscor. 2, 160, it is referred to as the wild σέρις or κιχώριον, i.e., wild endive, the intubus or intubum of the Romans. As lettuce and endive are indigenous in Egypt, and endive is also met with in Syria from the beginning of the winter months to the end of March, and lettuce in April and May, it is to these herbs of bitter flavor that the term merorim chiefly applies; though others may also be included, as the Arabs apply the same term to Scorzonera orient., Picris scabra, Sonclus oler., Hieracium uniflor., and others (Forsk. flor. cxviii. and 143); and in the Mishnah, Pes. 2, 6, five different varieties of bitter herbs are reckoned as merorim, though it is difficult to determine what they are (cf. Bochart, Hieroz. 1, pp. 691ff., and Cels. Hierobot. ii. p. 727). By עַל (upon) the bitter herbs are represented, both here and in Num_9:11, not as an accompaniment to the meat, but as the basis of the meal. עַל does not signify along with, or indicate accompaniment, not even in Exo_35:22; but in this and other similar passages it still retains its primary signification, upon or over. It is only used to signify accompaniment in cases where the ideas of protection, meditation, or addition are prominent. If, then, the bitter herbs are represented in this passage as the basis of the meal, and the unleavened bread also in Num_9:11, it is evident that the bitter herbs were not intended to be regarded as a savoury accompaniment, by which more flavour was imparted to the sweeter food, but had a more profound signification. The bitter herbs were to call to mind the bitterness of life experienced by Israel in Egypt (Exo_1:14), and this bitterness was to be overpowered by the sweet flesh of the lamb. In the same way the unleavened loaves are regarded as forming part of the substance of the meal in Num_9:11, in accordance with their significance in relation to it (vid., Exo_12:15). There is no discrepancy between this and Deu_16:3, where the mazzoth are spoken of as an accompaniment to the flesh of the sacrifice; for the allusion there is not to the eating of the paschal lamb, but to sacrificial meals held during the seven days' festival.

JOSEPH'S ROBE

SOWER

INCREASED CONTINUED

    SEED

Mar 4:3  Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 
Mar 4:4  And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. 
Mar 4:5  And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 
Mar 4:6  But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 
Mar 4:7  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 
Mar 4:8  And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. 
Mar 4:9  And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 
Mar 4:10  And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 
Mar 4:11  And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 
Mar 4:12  That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. 
Mar 4:13  And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? 
Mar 4:14  The sower soweth the word. 
Mar 4:15  And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. 
Mar 4:16  And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 
Mar 4:17  And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. 
Mar 4:18  And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 
Mar 4:19  And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 
Mar 4:20  And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred. 
Mar 4:21  And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? 
Mar 4:22  For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. 
Mar 4:23  If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 
Mar 4:24  And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. 
Mar 4:25  For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. 
Mar 4:26  And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 
Mar 4:27  And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. 
Mar 4:28  For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 
Mar 4:29  But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. 
Mar 4:30  And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? 
Mar 4:31  It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: 
Mar 4:32  But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. 
Mar 4:33  And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. 
Mar 4:34  But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. 
Mar 4:35  And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 
Mar 4:36  And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 
Mar 4:37  And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 
Mar 4:38  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 
Mar 4:39  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 
Mar 4:40  And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 

Mar 4:41  And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?  ne to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? 

HONORING OUR SOLDIERS

HONORING OUR SOLDIERS

INCREASE

Increase

   
in´krēs, (noun), in-krēs´ (verb): Employed in the English Bible both as verb and as noun, and in both cases to represent a number of different words in the original. As a verb it is used in the ordinary sense of the term. As a noun it is usually used of plant life, or of the herds and flocks, to denote the fruitage or the offspring; more rarely of money, to denote the interest. As examples of the different terms translated by this word, students who read Hebrew or Greek may compare Deu_7:22; Pro_16:21; Job_10:16 the King James Version; Job_12:23; Num_18:30; Deu_7:13; Eze_22:12 in the Old Testament, and Joh_3:30; 1Co_3:6; Col_2:19; Eph_4:16 in the New Testament.

Deu 7:22  And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee

increase

H7235
רבה
râbâh
raw-baw'
A primitive root; to increase (in whatever respect): - [bring in] abundance (X -antly), + archer [by mistake for H7232], be in authority, bring up, X continue, enlarge, excel, exceeding (-ly), be full of, (be, make) great (-er, -ly), X -ness), grow up, heap, increase, be long, (be, give, have, make, use) many (a time), (any, be, give, give the, have) more (in number), (ask, be, be so, gather, over, take, yield) much (greater, more), (make to) multiply, nourish, plenty (-eous), X process [of time], sore, store, thoroughly, very.


Deuteronomy 7:12-26

The observance of these commandments would also bring great blessings (Deu_7:12-16). “If ye hearken to these demands of right” (mishpatim) of the covenant Lord upon His covenant people, and keep them and do them, “Jehovah will keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which He hath sworn to thy fathers.” In עֵקֶב, for אֲשֶׁר עֵקֶב (Gen_22:18), there is involved not only the idea of reciprocity, but everywhere also an allusion to reward or punishment (cf. Deu_8:20; Num_14:24). חֶסֶד was the favour displayed in the promises given to the patriarchs on oath (Gen_22:16).

Deu_7:21-23
Israel had no need to be afraid of them, as Jehovah was in the midst of it a mighty God and terrible. He would drive out the nations, but only gradually, as He had already declared to Moses in Exo_23:30-31, and would smite them with great confusion, till they were destroyed, as was the case for example at Gibeon (Jos_10:10; cf. Exo_23:27, where the form הָמַם is used instead of הוּם), and would also deliver their kings into the hand of Israel, so that their names should vanish under the heaven (cf. Deu_9:14; Deu_25:19; and for the fulfilment, Jos_10:22., Deu_11:12; 12:7-24). No one would be able to stand before Israel.

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Pro 16:21  The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning

our proverbs of wisdom with eloquence:
21 The wise in heart is called prudent,
     And grace of the lips increaseth learning.
Elsewhere (Pro_1:5; Pro_9:9) הוסיף לֶקַח means more than to gain learning, i.e., erudition in the ethico-practical sense, for sweetness of the lips (dulcedo orationis of Cicero) is, as to learning, without significance, but of so much the greater value for reaching; for grace of expression, and of exposition, particularly if it be not merely rhetorical, but, according to the saying pectus disertos facit, coming out of the heart, is full of mind, it imparts force to the instruction, and makes it acceptable. Whoever is wise of heart, i.e., of mind or spirit (לֵב = the N.T. νοῦς or πνεῦμα), is called, and is truly, נָבוֹן [learned, intelligent] (Fleischer compares to this the expression frequent in Isaiah, “to be named” = to be and appear to be, the Arab. du'ay lah); but there is a gift which highly increases the worth of this understanding or intelligence, for it makes it fruitful of good to others, and that is grace of the lips. On the lips (Pro_10:13) of the intelligent wisdom is found; but the form also, and the whole manner and way in which he gives expression to this wisdom, is pleasing, proceeding from a deep and tender feeling for the suitable and the beneficial, and thus he produces effects so much the more surely, and beneficently, and richly.

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Job 10:16  For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me. 
H1342
גּאה
gâ'âh
gaw-aw'
A primitive root; to mount up; hence in general to rise, (figuratively) be majestic: - gloriously, grow up, increase, be risen, triumph.


יִגְאֶה is hypothetical, like וצדקתי, but put in the future form, because referring to a voluntary act (Ewald, §357, b): and if it (the head) would (nevertheless) exalt itself (גאה, to raise proudly or in joyous self-consciousness), then (without waw apod., which is found in other passages, e.g., Job_22:28) Thou wouldst hunt me like a shachal (vid., Job_4:10), - Job likens God to the lion (as Hos_5:14; Hos_13:7), and himself to the prey which the lion pursues-Thou wouldst ever anew show Thyself wonderful at my expense (תָּשֹׁב, voluntative form, followed by a future with which it is connected adverbially, Ges. §142, 3, b; תִּתְפַּלָּא, with â in the last syllable, although not in pause, as Num_19:12; Ewald, §141, c.), i.e., wonderful in power, and inventive by ever new forms off suffering, by which I should be compelled to repent this haughtiness. The witnesses (עֵדִים) that God continually brings forth afresh against him are his sufferings (vid., Job_16:8), which, while he is conscious of his innocence, declare him to be a sinner; for Job, like the friends, cannot think of suffering and sin otherwise than as connected one with the other: suffering is partly the result of sin, and partly it sets the mark of sin on the man who is no sinner. תֶּרֶב (fut. apoc. Hiph. Ges. §75, rem. 15) is also the voluntative form: Thou wouldst multiply, increase Thy malignity against me. עִם, contra, as also in other passages with words denoting strife and war, Job_13:19; Job_23:6; Job_31:13; or where the context implies hostility, Psa_55:19; Psa_94:16. The last line is a clause by itself consisting of nouns. וְצָבָא חֲלִיפֹות is considered by all modern expositors as hendiadys, as Mercier translates: impetor variis et sibi succedentibus malorum agminibus; and צבא is mostly taken collectively. Changes and hosts = hosts continuously dispersing themselves, and always coming on afresh to the attack. But is not this form of expression unnatural? By חליפות Job means the advancing troops, and by צבא the main body of the army, from which they are reinforced; the former stands first, because the thought figuratively expressed in תחדשׁ and תרב is continued (comp. Job_19:12): the enmity of God is manifested against him by ever fresh sufferings, which are added to the one chief affliction. Böttcher calls attention to the fact that all the lines from v. 14 end in î, a rhythm formed by the inflection, which is also continued in v. 18. This repetition of the pronominal suffix gives intensity to the impression that these manifestations of the divine wrath have special reference to himself individually.


N.T.
Mat 25:17  And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.

G2770
κερδαίνω
kerdainō
ker-dah'ee-no
From G2771; to gain (literally or figuratively): - (get) gain, win.

Increase will continue next week

JACOB

Jacob told Joseph that a long time ago Yahweh had told him he would be ...

SHECHEM AND CYCLOPEAN STONES

WALL OF SHECHEM

CYLOPEAN

SHECHEM

Shechem (1)

("shoulder", or "upper part of the back just below the neck"); explained as if the town were on the shoulder of the heights dividing the waters that flow toward the Mediterranean on the W. and to the Jordan on the E.; or on a shoulder or ridge connected with Mounts Ebal and Gerizim. Also called SICHEM, SYCHEM, and SYCHAR (Joh_4:5; Jos_20:7; Jdg_9:9; 1Ki_12:25). Mount Gerizim is close by (Jdg_9:7) on the southern side, Mount Ebal on the northern side. These hills at the base are but 500 yards apart. Vespasian named it Neapolis; coins are extant with its name "Flavia Neapolis"; now Nablus by corruption. The situation is lovely; the valley runs W. with a soil of rich, black, vegetable mold, watered by fountains, sending forth numerous streams flowing W.; orchards of fruit, olive groves, gardens of vegetables, and verdure on all sides delight the eye. On the E. of Gerizim and Ebal the flue plain of Mukhna stretches from N. to S.
Here first in Canaan God appeared to Abraham (Gen_12:6), and here he pitched his tent and built an altar under the oak or terebinth (not "plain") of Moreh; here too Jacob re-entered the promised land (Gen_33:18-19), and "bought a parcel of a field where he had spread his tent," from the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, and bequeathed it subsequently to Joseph (Gen_48:22; Jos_24:32; Joh_4:5); a dwelling place, whereas Abraham's only purchase was a burial place. It lay in the rich plain of the Mukhna, and its value was increased by the well Jacob dug there. Joshua made "Shechem in Mount Ephraim" one of the six cities of refuge (Jos_20:7). The suburbs in our Lord's days reached nearer the entrance of the valley between Gerizim and Ebal than now; for the narrative in Joh_4:30; Joh_4:35, implies that the people could be seen as they came from the town toward Jesus at the well, whereas Nablus now is more than a mile distant, and cannot be seen from that point.
Josephus (B. J. 3:7, section 32) says that more than 10,000 of the inhabitants were once destroyed by the Romans, implying a much larger town and population than at present. (See DINAH; HAMOR.) (See JACOB on the massacre by Simeon and Levi, Genesis 34.) Under Abraham's oak at Shechem Jacob buried the family idols and amulets (Gen_35:1-4). Probably too "the strange gods" or "the gods of the stranger" were those carried away by Jacob's sons from Shechem among the spoils (Gen_35:2; Gen_34:26-29). The charge to "be clean and change garments" may have respect to the recent slaughter of the Shechemites, which polluted those who took part in it (Blunt, Undesigned Coincidences). Shechem was for a time Ephraim's civil capital. as Shiloh was its religious capital (Jdg_9:2; Jdg_21:19; Jos_24:1-25-26; 1Ki_12:1). At the same "memorial terebinth" at Shechem the Shechemites made Abimelech king (Jdg_9:6).
Jotham's parable as to the trees, the vine, the fig, and the bramble, were most appropriate to the scenery; contrast the shadow of the bramble which would rather scratch than shelter, with Isa_32:2. Abimelech destroyed Shechem and sowed it with salt (Jdg_9:45). From Gerizim the blessings, and from Ebal the curses, were read (Jos_8:33-35). At Shechem Joshua gave his farewell charge (Jos_24:1-25). Joseph was buried there (Jos_24:32; Act_7:16). At Shechem Rehoboam was made king by Israel (1Ki_12:1); he desired to conciliate the haughty Ephraimites by being crowned there. Here, through his ill advised obstinacy, the Israelites revolted to Jeroboam, who made Shechem his capital. Mediaeval writers (Palestine Exploration Quarterly Statement, Jan. 1878, p. 27-28) placed the Dan and Bethel of Jeroboam's calves on Mounts Ebal and Gerizim. The following reasons favor this view.
(1) The ruins below the western peak of Gerizim are still called Lozeh or Luz, the old name of Bethel; a western spur of Ebal has a site Amad ed Din, (possibly Joshua's altar on Ebal), bearing traces of the name Dan, and the hill is called Ras el Kady ("judgment" answering to the meaning of Dan).
(2) The Bethel of the calf was close to the palace of Jeroboam who lived in Shechem (Amo_7:13; 1Ki_12:25).
(3) The southern Bethel was in Benjamin (Jos_18:22) and would hardly have been chosen as a religious center by Jeroboam who was anxious to draw away the people from Jerusalem (1Ki_12:28).
(4) The southern Bethel was taken from Jeroboam by Abijah king of Judah (2Ch_13:19), whereas the calf of Bethel was not destroyed but remained standing long after (2Ki_10:29).
(5) The Bethel of the calf is mentioned in connection with Samaria (1Ki_13:32; 2Ki_23:19; Amo_4:1-4; Amo_5:6), and the old prophet at Bethel was of Samaria according to Josephus (2Ki_23:18).
(6) The southern Bethel was the seat of a school of prophets, which is hardly consistent with its being the seat of the calf worship (2Ki_2:2-3).
The "men from Shechem" (Jer_41:5) who had paganly "cut themselves," and were slain by Ishmael, were probably of the Babylonian colonists who combined Jehovah worship with their old idolatries. Shechem was the chief Samaritan city from the time of the setting up of the temple on Gerizim down to its destruction in 129 B.C., i.e. for about 200 years. Sychar is probably a corruption of Shechem; others make it a Jewish alteration, for contempt, from shecher "a lie." (See SYCHAR.) Jesus remained at Shechem two days and won many converts, the firstfruits, followed by a full harvest under Philip the evangelist (Acts 8; Joh_4:35-43). The population now is about 5,000, of whom 500 are Greek Christians, 150 Samaritans, and a few Jews. The main street runs from E. to W. The houses are of stone, the streets narrow and dark. Eighty springs are within or around Shechem. It is the center of trade between Jaffa and Beirut on one side, and the transjordanic region on the other. It has manufactures of coarse woolen fabrics, delicate silk, camel's hair cloth, and soap. Inscriptions from the Samaritan Pentateuch, of A.D. 529, which had been on the walls of a synagogue, have been found and read.
The well of Jacob lies one mile and a half E. of Shechem beyond the hamlet Balata; beside a mound of ruins with fragments of granite columns on a low hill projecting from Gerizim's base in a N.E. direction, between the plain and the opening of the valley. Formerly a vaulted chamber, ten feet square, with a square hole opening into it, covered over the floor in which was the well's mouth. Now the vault has in part fallen and covered up the mouth; only a shallow pit remains, half filled with stones and rubbish. The well was 75 feet deep at its last measurement, but 105 at Maundrell's visit in 1697. It is now dry almost always, whereas he found 15 feet of water. Jacob dug it deep into the rocky ground, its position indicating it was dug by one who could not rely for water on the springs so near in the valley (Ain Balata and Defneh), the Canaanites being their owners. A church was built round it in the fourth century, but was destroyed before the crusades. Eusebius in the early part of the fourth century confirms the traditional site; John 4 accords with it.
Jesus in His journey from Jerusalem to Galilee rested at it, while "His disciples were gone away into the city to buy meat"; so the well must have lain before, but at some little distance from, the city. Jesus intended on their return to proceed along the plain toward Galilee, without visiting the city Himself, which agrees with the traditional site. The so-called "tomb of Joseph," a quarter of a mile N. of the well in the open plain, in the center of the opening between Gerizim and Ebal, is more open to doubt. A small square of high walls surrounds a common tomb, placed diagonally to the walls; a rough pillar altar is at the head, and another at the foot. In the left corner is a vine whose branches "run over the wall" (Gen_49:22). Maundrell's description applies better to another tomb named from Joseph at the N.E. foot of Gerizim. However the phrase in Gen_33:19, "a parcel of a field," Jos_24:32, favors the site near Jacob's well, bechelqat hasadeh, a smooth lever open cultivated land; in Palestine there is not to be found such a dead level, without the least hollow in a circuit of two hours.

CYLOPEAN

Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and no use of mortar. The boulders typically seem unworked, but some may have been worked roughly with a hammer and the gaps between boulders filled in with smaller chunks of limestone.

The most famous examples of Cyclopean masonry are found in the walls of Mycenae and Tiryns, and the style is characteristic of Mycenaean fortifications. Similar styles of stonework are found in other cultures and the term has come to be used to describe typical stonework of this sort.

The term comes from the belief of classical Greeks that only the mythical Cyclopes had the strength to move the enormous boulders that made up the walls of Mycenae and Tiryns. Pliny's Natural History reported the tradition attributed to Aristotle, that the Cyclopes were the inventors of masonry towers, giving rise to the designation --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The walls are usually founded in extremely shallow beddings carved out of the bedrock. 'Cyclopean', the term normally applied to the masonry style characteristic of Mycenaean fortification systems, describes walls built of huge, unworked limestone boulders which are roughly fitted together. Between these boulders, smaller hunks of limestone fill the interstices. The exterior faces of the large boulders may be roughly hammer-dressed, but the boulders themselves are never carefully cut blocks. Very large boulders are typical of the Mycenaean walls at Mycenae, Tiryns, Argos, Krisa (in Phocis), and the Athenian Acropolis. Somewhat smaller boulders occur in the walls of Midea, whereas large limestone slabs are characteristic of the walls at Gla. Cut stone masonry is used only in and around gateways, conglomerate at Mycenae and Tiryns and perhaps both conglomerate and limestone at Argos.^[2]

Cyclopean stone blocks near the Lion Gate

Around 1350 BC, the fortifications of the acropolis hill and other next to it were

rebuilt in a style known as cyclopean, because the stone blocks used were so 
great that in later times thought they were the result of work of the one-eyed 
giant called Cyclops. These blocks are next to the Lion Gate.

The Lions Gate. Acropolis of Mycenae

Lions Gate is the most characteristic architectural execution known and was built Mycenae around
1250 BC. It represents two lions rampant about 9 feet high. At that time, Mycenae was a thriving
city whose power extended as far as Crete, Pylos (in the western Peloponnese), Athens and Thebes.