Tuesday, November 26, 2019

The Ultimate Guide to the 28 Main Greek Gods and Goddesses

The Ultimate Guide to the 28 Main Greek Gods and Goddesses SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Few figures from ancient mythology are as popular and well-known today as the Greek gods. You can find them in books and movies, company names and Halloween costumes, and even in space, where tons of astrological features are named after them! But what if you want to know more about the Greek goddesses and gods than just their names and a vague idea of their function? In this article we’ll provide a comprehensive guide to the Greek pantheon, starting with an introduction to the Greek gods and their mythic origins. Then, we’ll do a deep dive on the Twelve Olympians, go over some other important minor deities, discuss Greek gods family tree, the history of their worship, and wrap up with all the places you might encounter this ancient pantheon today! Greek Gods and Goddesses: An Introduction As in many ancient religions, there were hundreds of beings recognized as deities by the Greeks. These deities were mostly associated with abstract concepts like memory and justice and natural forces and features like rivers, seasons, death, and rebirth. There were also gods associated with agriculture and craftsmanship (like shepherding and blacksmithing) and the social order (i.e. marriage, the law). These gods were understood primarily as inexorable forces that governed human existence, but they also had a human aspect. These gods also marry, have children, fight, intermingle with mortals, insult each other, take vengeance, make war, and create great art. They have hierarchical and familial relationships. Mythology shows the gods both hurting and harming both mortals and each other in fairly equal measure, and not necessarily in accordance with modern conception of justice or fairness. To the modern observer, ancient religions can seem truly bizarre. The gods seem petty and irrational- not benevolent or better than humans, but embodying the entire spectrum of human strengths and foibles while simultaneously ignoring human conventions (the Greek gods’ family tree is incredibly complicated- and incestuous). But to the Greeks, the gods were not meant to behave better than humans or judge human conduct; they were simply the absolute forces that ordered the universe and drove all phenomena. Their human aspects simply made them intelligible. Mount Olympus, the mythic home of the Greek gods. Photo by flickr user stefg74. Mythic Origins of the Greek Gods and Goddesses In the Greek view, the main gods of Olympus were far from the original gods of the Universe. In the beginning was only Chaos. From Chaos came four beings: #1: Eros, who represented not only love but the power to reproduce#2: Gaia, the earth#3: Tartarus, the empty abyss beneath the earth#4: Nyx, the night Gaia birthed Uranus, the sky, from herself. Gaia and Uranus then had many children together, who were known as the Titans. Among the Titans were both gods and monsters. Uranus was not pleased with Gaia’s monstrous children, and so attempted to force them back into her womb, causing her incredible pain. Because of this, Gaia had her youngest son, the Titan Kronos, castrate his father with a sickle and cast the testicles into the sea. Kronos then became ruler of the gods. He took his sister Rhea as consort. But as he had overthrown his own father, he feared his children would overthrow him. So he consumed each of his children as they were born. However, with her last child, Zeus, Rhea tricked Kronos by offering him a stone wrapped in swaddling instead. She hid Zeus on earth, where he was raised by a nymph. When he grew to manhood, Gaia helped Zeus drug Kronos and then give him a potion to make him throw up all of his siblings: Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia. With his siblings as allies, he established himself at Mount Olympus and led a war against Kronos and the other Titans. With his victory, he became king of the greek gods and goddesses. He imprisoned the defeated Titan men in the depths of Tartarus. However, he allowed the Titan women to remain above and in fact went on to have children with many of them! He also married Hera and made her his consort. To the Greeks, Rhea, Cronus, and the Titans most likely represented the gods who were worshiped before the worship of the main Olympians were established. The Battle Between the Gods and the Titans, by Joachim Wtewael, 1600 Major Figures of the Pantheon: The Twelve Olympians The number twelve had great symbolic significance to the Greeks, and so there always had to be twelve primary Olympians. This is regardless of the fact that far more than twelve gods lived at Olympus, and some of the Twelve barely resided there if at all (like Poseidon and Hades). Myth holds that Hestia forfeited her place as one of the Twelve when Dionysus ascended Olympus, to keep the correct number. Who was among the Twelve was not always consistent, either- some descriptions kept Hestia and left out Hades, for example. However, the following Greek goddesses and gods were those most commonly named as the Twelve. Zeus Illustration of Zeus by Paul Bransom, circa 1921 God of: Storms, fate and destiny, law and order, kingship; king of the gods. Origin: Child of Titans Kronos and Rhea Usually Depicted As: A strong, mature, kingly man with a dark beard. Symbols and Icons: Thunderbolt, eagle, oak, bull Major Relationships Married to Hera Brother of Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, and Hestia Fathered many of the Olympian gods: Athena, Persephone, Ares, Apollo and Artemis, Dionysus, and many other more minor gods and demigods. Only Ares was fathered with Hera; the rest were from extramarital dalliances. Major Attributes After Zeus threw down Kronos, he, Poseidon, and Hades drew lots to divide up the cosmos. Zeus got the sky. The earth was considered equally under the mastery of all three brothers. Zeus' primary original aspect was as a weather god; thunderbolts forged by Hephaestus were his chosen weapon. Later, he came to symbolize order, the law, and fate; he was considered more powerful than all the other gods and thus his rule went unchallenged. He had a huge number of affairs with both goddesses and mortal women, and the many children resulting from said affairs. He often took animal form to seduce mortal women. Myths Other than the story of him overthrowing the Titans, most of the best-known myths of Zeus today center around his seduction (or rape) of various women. Here are some notable ones: Leda: Leda was the wife of Tyndareus, the Queen of Sparta. However, Zeus desired her, so he transformed into a swan and either seduced or raped her, depending on the version of the story. Leda also slept with her husband the same night, and then laid two eggs. From one egg came her children with Zeus, Helen (of Troy fame) and Polydeuces (or Pollux). From the other egg came her children with Tyndareus, Castor and Clytemnestra. Europa: Zeus saw and desired the beautiful Europa, a Phoenician noblewoman. He disguised himself as a white bull in her father’s herds. When out with her handmaids, she admired the beautiful bull and climbed atop his back. He seized the opportunity to take her away, swimming across the sea to Crete. After Zeus had several children with her, she married the king of Crete. The name of the continent "Europe" comes from Europa. Danae: Danae was the daughter of a king. This king heard a prophecy that her son would overthrow him, so he locked Danae in a tower so no man could touch her. However, Zeus transformed into a shower of gold, came in through the grates of her tower, and impregnated her with Perseus. The king threw Danae and Perseus into the sea in a wooden chest. Zeus asked Poseidon to bear them to safety. Hera The Peacock Complains to Juno; Gustave Moreau, 1881 Goddess of: Marriage and childbirth, women, and the sky and stars; queen of the gods Origin: Child of Titans Kronos and Rhea Usually Depicted As: A beautiful, majestic matron wearing a crown Symbols and Icons: The peacock, the cuckoo, the pomegranate, the cow Major Relationships Married to Zeus (also his sister) Sister of Demeter, Poseidon, Zeus, Hades, and Hestia Mother of Ares, Eris, Hebe, and Eileithyia, (with Zeus) Mother of Hephaestus (without male intervention!) Major Attributes As wife of Zeus, she was queen of the Greek gods. She was undeniably powerful in her own right, but was not really considered Zeus’ equal; in myths about direct confrontations between them Zeus always emerged the victor. She was considered somewhat stubborn and quarrelsome; she and Zeus had a tumultuous relationship. She was known for tormenting Zeus’ many lovers and so had a reputation for being "jealous." Every year, she renewed her virginity by bathing in a spring at Nauplia. Myths Many of Hera’s appearances in myth revolve around her attempts to torment the lovers of Zeus and the children resulting from these unions. Heracles and the Milky Way: Hera repeatedly tormented Zeus’ child with the mortal Alcmene, Heracles. (Zeus’ attempt to placate Hera by naming the child in her honor was not successful.) She set many obstacles against him throughout his life. One notable story about Hera and Heracles was that when he was an infant, Zeus tricked Hera into breastfeeding Heracles, presenting him simply as an abandoned child. When she realized who he was, she yanked the baby from her breast, and the spray of milk that followed became the Milky Way. Lamia: Zeus took a beautiful queen of Libya as his mistress, and she bore him multiple children. Enraged, Hera killed Lamia’s children and turned her into a monster (typically part-serpent) who devours the children of others. Poseidon Cirta mosaic of Poseidon and Amphitrite, circa 315-325 God of: The sea, flood, drought, earthquakes, horses Origin: Child of Titans Kronos and Rhea Usually Depicted As: A mature, dark-bearded man with a trident Symbols and Icons: The trident, the horse, the dolphin, the bull, the tuna Major Relationships Brother of Demeter, Hera, Zeus, Hades, and Hestia Married to Amphitrite Fathered many children with various mothers; a large number of these children were monstrous in some respect or another. Major Attributes When Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades defeated their father Kronos, they drew lots on who would rule over what, and Poseidon drew the sea. He is thought to be much like the sea: capable of being both majestic, calm, and stormy by turns. Like his brother, Zeus, he was known to have many lovers. He was considered to have the power to give sailors safe passage. He is often credited with creating the horse; he rode around on the surface of the sea in a chariot pulled by magic horses. The Greeks believed that sacrificing a horse would win Poseidon’s favor. Myths Patronage of Athens: Poseidon and Athena were both in bitter competition to become the patron god of Athens when it was a newly-founded city (and before it was called Athens, of course). Athena proposed they hold a content for the patronage of the city: each would present a gift to the city and the king, Cecrops, would judge which present was best and therefore which god would be patron. Some versions of the myth have Poseidon giving the people a spring, which turned out to be saltwater and so useless. Some versions have him creating and gifting the city with the horse. Either way, Athena gave the city the olive tree, which Cecrops deemed the better gift. Athena became patron and the city was called Athens in her honor. Demeter Fresco of Demeter by Cosimo Tura, 1476-1484 Goddess of: All plants and fruit, agriculture, grain, bread, fertility, and newlyweds. Origin: Child of Titans Kronos and Rhea Usually Depicted As: A crowned, blonde, somewhat voluptuous, mature woman bearing grain. Often portrayed with her daughter, Persephone, or in a chariot drawn by horses or dragons Symbols and Icons: Corn, pigs, fruit, poppies, sheaves of wheat, the cornucopia/horn of plenty. Major Relationships Mother of Persephone (by Zeus) Sister of Hera, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, and Hestia Major Attributes The name "Demeter" has two potential derivations; it could mean either "mother earth," or "giver of grain/barley." She was primarily a Greek goddess not just of nature but of cultivation; she taught humanity how to cultivate grain. As such she was also considered the giver of bread. Without her blessing, nothing grew and people starved. Rather than dwell in Olympus, she spent most of her time wandering the surface of the earth with her daughter, Persephone. Mother and daughter were often worshiped together, particularly as part of the Eleusinian mysteries. This was a mystery cult centered at Eleusis that promised initiates entrance into the blessed paradise Elysium in the afterlife. The contents of the mysteries were closely-guarded secrets. We have a general idea that they were primarily a ritualized presentation of the myth of Persephone, but we don’t know all the specifics. So many details of the mysteries remain a mystery to this day! Many agrarian festivals were held in her honor throughout Greece. Demeter was also a goddess of fertility, and the priestess of Demeter was responsible for explaining the duties of marriage to newlywed couples. Myths The most important myth about Demeter is the myth of the abduction of Persephone- a story that has endured in the popular imagination through the present day. The Abduction of Persephone: The god Hades wished to marry Persephone, but he knew that it was unlikely that Demeter would allow anyone to marry her daughter as it would separate the two. So he petitioned Zeus, who gave him permission to abduct Persephone. When Persephone was gathering flowers with her companions, he came forth from the earth, snatched her up onto his chariot, and descended down with his new bride into the Underworld. Demeter, distraught, searched everywhere for her daughter with the help of the goddess Hecate. But she couldn’t find Persephone anywhere on earth. In her grief, she made it so all crops failed and all vegetation withered. Eventually, the Greek god Helios told her he had seen Hades carry off Persephone. Outraged, Demeter went to Zeus to demand her daughter be returned. Zeus complied because humanity was starving, and commanded Hades to return Persephone to the surface world. Hades did return her. But before that he offered Persephone a single pomegranate seed to eat. Because she had eaten of the fruit of the Underworld, she had to return there part of every year. Thus she spends a third of every year (or half, depending on who is telling the tale) in the Underworld, and the rest of the year on the earth’s surface with her mother. This myth is used to explain the cycling of the seasons: when Persephone is above ground, Demeter is happy and things grow. When Persephone is in the Underworld, Demeter is sad and the earth is barren (so, winter). Hades 16th-century painting of Hades God of: King of the Underworld, god of death and funerals; also considered the god of the metals and riches of the earth and soil Origin: Child of Titans Kronos and Rhea Usually Depicted As: A dark-bearded, mature man; had two commonly depicted aspects: enthroned in the underworld, or pouring earthly riches from a cornucopia Symbols and Icons: Black sheep, cyprus, narcissus Major Relationships Husband of Persephone Brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia Father of The Furies (sometimes) Major Attributes His name has two possible derivations: one meaning "he who makes invisible," and another meaning "receiver/embracer of all." He became god of the underworld when he, Poseidon, and Zeus drew lots to see who would control which realms of the cosmos. However, he was allowed to ascend Olympus at will, although he did not know what transpired on earth or on Olympus when he was in the underworld. He presided over the trials of the dead. He was considered a chthonic deity- associated with the earth and underground as opposed to the sky or sea. The Greeks considered him somewhat pitiless and he was not well-loved; unsurprising for the god of death! He was also often referred to euphemistically, with names like "Clymenus" (the illustrious) and "Eubelus" (the giver of good counsel) due to Greek superstition. He was also known as "the hidden one" because he had a helmet that made him invisible. Like Poseidon and Zeus, he had several extramarital dalliances; although of an order of magnitude less, it seems. Myths By far the most notable myth about Hades is his abduction of Persephone; see Demeter’s section above for this myth. Athena Athena by Gustav Klimt, 1898 Goddess of: wisdom and reason, battle strategy/warfare, handicrafts, weaving. Patron goddess of Athens. Origin: Was the child of Zeus and Titan Metis. Fearing his child would usurp him, Zeus consumed the pregnant Metis. Later, he endured a "splitting" headache- until Hephaestus split open Zeus’ head with an axe and the fully-formed, armor-wearing Athena emerged. Usually Depicted As: Wearing body armor with a shield and a lance; or wearing a helmet and the aegis, her cape printed with the face of Medusa. Symbols and Icons: The owl, the olive tree, the goose, the serpent Major Relationships Had a close relationship with Zeus; often cited as his favorite child Was in many ways counterparts with Hephaestus, who wished to marry her; she refused Major Attributes She represents logic and rationality to such an extent that she cannot be "afflicted by Aphrodite"- she cannot fall in love. As such, she is a sworn virgin. She is also considered to have a somewhat androgynous aspect. She has a close relationship with Zeus and was thought to sit at his right hand and give her wise counsel when occasion required. As opposed to being aligned with natural forces, Athena is primarily a goddess of civilization. She was considered a force of power and wisdom who protected the law, the state, and social institutions. In many ways she is the opposite of her fellow sworn virgin goddess Artemis. As protector of the state, she also had an aspect as a goddess of warfare and battle; she was considered the goddess of military strategy. This stands in contrast to Ares, who was the god of thoughtless battle-lust. The Greeks took it as somewhat self-evident that Athena surpassed Ares in battle. She was considered, much like Hephaestus, a great innovator and creator of many of the useful crafts used by humankind. Pretty much any carefully-designed invention or craft commonly used for human industry was thought to be inspired or created by Athena. She was notably considered the inventor of weaving. She also created the olive tree. Athena was a particularly beloved goddess by the Greeks; she had many cult sites and they often sacrificed bulls to her. Myths We've already covered how Athena became patron goddess of Athens in the Poseidon section, but there are also other notable myths about her. Arachne: Arachne was a young Greek woman who claimed that she was a better weaver than Athena herself. Insulted, Athena challenged Arachne to a weaving contest. Athena wove scenes of the gods’ glories and triumphs, while Arachne wove scenes of the gods abusing mortals. There is some variation in exactly what happened- some versions claim that Arachne’s weaving was superior, and some that Athena won. However, Athena was enraged by Arachne’s insult to the gods through her woven scenes and turned her into a spider, weaving only webs. Bonus: Want to read more about spiders? Check out our articles on myths of the camel spider and why you shouldn't fear garden spiders. Hephaestus 1497 painting of Hephaestus by Andrea Mantegna God of: Craftsmen, blacksmiths, fire, volcanoes Origin: Typically considered a child of Hera and Hera alone. She conceived him herself, but when he was born crippled, she threw him out of the heavens. He was rescued and raised by Thetis and Eurynome. He was later welcomed back to Olympus after proving his skill as a craftsman. Depicted As: A middle-aged, bearded man with the tongs and hammer of a blacksmith, usually wearing a short-sleeved tunic and cap; sometimes riding a donkey. Sometimes visibly crippled; sometimes ugly, especially in post-ancient depictions. Symbols and Icons: Hammer, anvil/tongs, axe Major Relationships In some ways a counterpart to Athena; he initially wished to marry her but she rebuffed him. Married Aphrodite when his request to marry Athena was denied. Had a somewhat contentious relationship with his mother, Hera Major Attributes Hephaestus is notable for being the only primary Greek god of Olympus with a disability. Aphrodite was not happy to be married to him and engaged in an ongoing affair with Ares. Hephaestus was the craftsman of the gods and made many of their most prized possessions, for example: Hermes’ winged sandals Aphrodite’s’ girdle The chariot of Helios The armor of achilles Hephaestus taught man the crafts associated with smithing and as such was often worshiped in tandem with Athena, who was also associated with crafting. He was also known for his healing abilities; his priests were renowned for their knowledge of healing snake bites. Myths As Hephaestus was often ridiculed and mistreated for his lameness, many of his myths are about shaming those who cross and denigrate him- even the other gods. Aphrodite and Ares: Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, but they did not have a happy marriage. She had an ongoing affair with Ares, god of war. Helios, the Greek sun god, revealed the affair to Hephaestus when he saw the lovers cavorting together from his chariot above. Enraged, Hephaestus decided to lay a trap. He hung a fine-woven, invisible net above their trysting-place and told his wife he would be gone for some time. When Ares and Aphrodite were in flagrante delicto, the net dropped, trapping them in an amorous embrace. Hephaestus invited the gods to come view his unfaithful wife and her lover. The goddesses declined, but the men went to see. Hephaestus demanded back the bride-gifts he had paid for Aphrodite, but Zeus refused and told him they needed to work out the marital manner themselves. Ares was ordered to pay a fine to Hephaestus. None of this, of course, made Aphrodite faithful to Hephaestus. Aphrodite "The Birth of Venus" by Giorgio Vasari, 1556-1558 Goddess of: Love, passion, beauty, sex Origin: When Uranus was castrated by Kronos, his testicles were cast into the sea. Aphrodite rose from the foam that formed around the testicles. Depicted As: A beautiful, nude woman; or in a clothed, seated style similar to other Olympian goddesses Symbols and Icons: Apple, myrtle wreath, scallop shell, the dove, the swan, the rose, the pomegranate Major Relationships Unhappily married to Hephaestus Had an ongoing affair with Ares Had many children by different lovers, mortal and immortal Major Attributes "Aphros" means foam; while Aphrodite’s primary aspects were related to love and sex, she was also a goddess of the sea. She rescued shipwrecked sailors. She also guarded plants, and was (somewhat unsurprisingly) the goddess of prostitutes. In some regions she was also a Greek goddess of war and considered the lawful wife of Ares; her connection to war perhaps explains the coupling of Ares and Aphrodite throughout myth. She had a magic girdle made my Hephaestus that made the woman who wore it irresistible; she would loan it to Hera when Hera wished to recapture the attention of Zeus’ wandering eye! Unlike most of the other female gods, who tended to have a fairly limited number of lovers, Aphrodite was known for her many mortal and immortal lovers. She was known for her jealous nature; while she was very generous to her worshipers, she was spiteful to those who denied her. Myths Aphrodite myths typically concern her love affairs. Her liaison with Ares and the trap laid by Hephaestus was already described. Other than Ares, her most famous lover was Adonis. Aphrodite and Adonis: Adonis’ parentage is not consistent in myth, but in all accounts his pregnant mother was turned into a myrrh tree and he was born from the tree some time later. Aphrodite was taken with the baby and gave him into the care of Persephone. However, Persephone refused to give the child back. To solve the dispute, Zeus (or sometimes Calliope) decreed that Adonis would spend four months of the year with each goddess and the remaining four months however he chose. He decided to spend eight months of the year with Aphrodite. (It is unclear at exactly what point in the story Adonis becomes a young man and the lover of Aphrodite, but that is how he is typically depicted.) Unfortunately, Adonis is gored to death by a wild boar. In different versions of the myth, the boar is sent by a different god or goddess to take retribution against Aphrodite for some perceived wrongdoing. One of the most famous versions has her immortal lover Ares sending the boar to kill Adonis out of jealousy. Aphrodite hears Adonis’ cries and rushes to his side, where he dies in her arms. She turns his blood into the anemone flower. Adonis was actually a cult figure in ancient Greece and the subject of many mystery cults concerned with the Underworld, resurrection, and immortality. He and Aphrodite were sometimes worshiped in tandem as part of these cults. Ares Mars by Has Thoma, 19th century God of: war and battle (especially bloodlust), but also associated with courage and civil order Origin: Child of Zeus and Hera Depicted As: Either as a mature armored warrior or a nude youth, but almost always with his helmet. Symbols and Icons: Spear, woodpecker, vulture, dog, peaked warrior’s helmet Major Relationships Best-known relationship among the gods was as the lover of Aphrodite Also had many children, some by Aphrodite but most by others. Was accompanied into battle by his children with Aphrodite, Phobos and Deimos (Panic and Dread), and his sister, Eris (Strife) Major Attributes While Athena represented battle strategy and cunning, Ares represented bloodlust and battle frenzy- he enjoyed conflict for its own sake and was known to aid both sides by turns in the battles of men. In addition to battle and bloodshed, he was also said to cause plagues and epidemics. As an agent of violence and chaos, he was not well-loved by his parents or the other gods (except for by Aphrodite). Like most of the other male gods, he had many lovers, but Aphrodite was the most notable one. Because he was an agent of violence and chaos, he was not necessarily hugely popular across Greece. He was worshiped primarily in the northern parts. Additionally, the Spartans believed they were descended from him, and at a certain point in Spartan history he received human and dog sacrifices. He wore a golden helmet and bronze armor made by Hephaestus. Myths Some Ares myths have already been mentioned; he was humiliated by Hephaestus for his affair with Aphrodite, and he killed Adonis because he was jealous of Aphrodite’s love for him. But here’s one other: The Areopagus: The site where criminal trials were held was named after Ares because he was, in myth, the first being tried there. One day he came upon a son of Poseidon trying to rape his daughter, Alcippe. To protect her, he killed her assailant. Poseidon was furious and demanded justice for the death of his sons. A trial was held and twelve gods acquitted Ares, saying his violence was justified. Artemis Diana la Casadora, Pedro Lira, 19th century Goddess of: Nature, wild creatures, hunting and archery, virgins, childbirth, and witches Origin: She was a child of Zeus and Leto, delivered on the island of Delos because that was the only place that would offer Leto sanctuary from Hera’s wrath. Usually Depicted As: A girl or young woman with a bow and arrow, usually with a stag or hunting dog Symbols and Icons: Deer, cyprus, the moon, bear, palm tree Major Relationships Twin sister of Apollo Accompanied by many companions, including the Pleiades Major Attributes Her name is typically thought to mean "healthy" or "vigorous." Artemis is primarily a nature goddess and was often identified with local nature goddesses in her worship. As a young girl, she begged her father to be able to remain a virgin forever; he granted her wish. Priests and priestesses of Artemis took vows of chastity. Artemis protects women and wild animals, especially the young. She was a goddess of the natural world. In spite of her status as a virgin goddess she was also associated with childbirth. Hunting with her silver bow, she wanders the woods with her companions, who are mostly female. Some of her notable companions include the Pleiades, the seven sisters. However, several of the Pleiades did not remain virgins and ended up having children, like Maia, who bore Hermes to Zeus. She was considered responsible for the sudden deaths of girls and women, but could also protect, cure, and heal these things. Her twin brother Apollo was in many ways her counterpart; they had a close and complementary relationship. Some traditions placed them as husband and wife, but this is not the most common interpretation. Myths The most famous myth about Artemis is the myth of Actaeon. Actaeon and Artemis: The young hunter Actaeon came upon Artemis bathing naked in a woodland spring. He was so struck by Artemis’ beauty that he remained to watch and was discovered by the goddess. As punishment for his transgression, she turned him into a stag, and he was hunted down and ripped to pieces by his own hunting dogs. Apollo Rosalba Carriera, Apollo, 18th century God of: Prophecy, the sun, music, poetry, the arts, archery, healing Origin: Child of Zeus and Leto; born on Delos Usually Depicted As: A beardless, beautiful youth (naked or robed), often holding a lyre Symbols and Icons: The lyre; eagles, snakes, crows, cicadas, wolves, dolphins, ravens, the laurel tree, the number 7 Major Relationships Twin of Artemis Major Attributes Apollo was one of the most widely worshiped and beloved Greek gods of Olympus. Like many of the gods, Apollo had a somewhat dualistic aspect; he was both the patron of the most civilized arts, like music and poetry, and capable of extremely violent and barbaric acts. Apollo was a close counterpart to his sister, Artemis. While she was a goddess of wild nature, he was much more closely associated with civilization; she was connected with the moon and he with the sun; while she was thought to be responsible for the sudden deaths of women and girls, his arrows caused the sudden death of men and boys. Artemis had a silver bow, and he had a wooden one. Both gods also had a healing aspect. As a god of civilization, Apollo protects flocks and cattle and the founding of towns. Additionally, Apollo was a god of prophecy; one of the most famous oracles in Greece, the oracle at Delphi, was dedicated to him. And of course, like many of the gods, he was known for his many lovers, male and female- although he was not very lucky in love, with many of his pursuits and affairs having tragic ends. Myths Many of the myths of Apollo center around his unfortunate pursuits of women and men. Daphne: Apollo loved the beautiful Daphne, who had sworn to remain a virgin. He chased her until she could run no more. She cried out to her grandfather, river god Peneus, for aid. He turned her into a laurel tree so that Apollo could not touch her and she could remain forever a virgin. Cassandra: Apollo gave Cassandra, a princess of Troy, the gift of prophecy in an effort to win her affections. When she rejected his advances, he cursed her that no one would ever believe her prophecies. Hyacinthus: The beautiful young man Hyacinthus was one of the lovers of the god Apollo. However, the west wind, Zephyr, also loved Hyacinthus and was jealous. So one day when Apollo and Hyacinthus were taking turns throwing the discus, Zephyr blew Apollo’s discus off-course, causing it to strike and kill Hyacinthus. Apollo turned the dying man’s blood into a flower, the Hyacinth. Hermes Photo of ancient Hermes vase by Nicolas Vollmer God of: Travel and trade, eloquence and insight, luck and the unexpected, athletes, messenger of the gods, bringer of dreams Origin: Child of Zeus and Maia, one of the Pleiades Depicted As: Typically depicted with his winged sandals and hat, sometimes with a sheep on one shoulder Symbols and Icons: Winged sandals, winged helmet, caduceus (a winged staff with two snakes twined around it), rooster, tortoise, ram, hare, crocus Major Relationships In many ways, Hermes was somewhat of a loner god; he interacted with most all the gods but did not necessarily have a close association with any of them However, he did father Hermaphroditus with Aphrodite. Major Attributes "Hermes" is probably derived from "herma," the heaps of stones that indicated boundaries and marked landmarks. As the messenger god, Hermes was both a god of travel and of social communication. He protected travellers and guarded those who crossed boundaries. He had a mischievous, trickster aspect; he was the god of all communication and eloquence, whether it was honest or not. He was frequently able to get away with deception simply because he was so charming! He also guarded thieves and prostitutes. As a figure of craft and cunning, he was credited with many inventions, including the lyre, music, the alphabet, numbers, measures, weights, astronomy, combat, and gymnastics. As a messenger, he was also considered a god of diplomacy and protected embassies and diplomats. He was a god of dreams in his messenger aspect as well. Finally, he was tasked with leading the souls of the dead to the underworld, and was one of the only gods with free passage to and from there. Myths Hermes had a particularly illustrious childhood, engaging in wild feats as soon as he emerged from the womb. The Cattle of Apollo and the Lyre: The day Hermes was born, he left his cradle to look for adventure. He decided to steal 50 cows from Apollo’s herds. Using trickery and cleverness he covered all the tracks so his crime couldn’t be traced. After a long and fruitless search, Apollo finally used his own oracular powers to find Hermes. Hermes denied stealing the cows, but Apollo didn’t believe him and brought him before Zeus. Zeus was delighted with Hermes’ cleverness and did not punish him, only ordered him to return the cattle. When it came time to return the cattle, Apollo found Hermes playing a new instrument he had just made out of a turtle shell- the lyre. Apollo offered to let Hermes keep the cattle in exchange for the lyre. Hermes agreed, and the gods were friends from that moment on. Dionysus Reproduction of plate depicting Dionysus by Arthur Elam Haigh (1896) God of: wine and drunkenness, celebration and festivity, but also madness and frenzy. Origin: Child of Zeus and Semele. Considered "twice-born" because his mother died while pregnant with him after beholding the full glory of Zeus. Zeus saved the child by carrying him to term in his own thigh. Depicted As: Earlier he was portrayed as a bearded man and later as a beautiful, but somewhat androgynous, young man Symbols and Icons: Grapes, the thyrsos (a pine-cone tipped-staff), panthers and leopards, the wine cup, the ivy wreath Major Relationships Married to Ariadne, daughter of Minos, a Cretan king. Lover of Aphrodite; she bore Priapus by him Major Attributes Dionysus was connected with wine, drunkenness, festivity, fellowship, and nature. His cult was also associated with art and literature. However, there was a dark side to his worship, as he was connected also to frenzy and madness- the untamed wildness both of nature and of drink. His entourage consisted of wild spirits of fertility, like the sileni and the satyrs. He was also considered to have power as a prophetic deity and a healer of illness. In his aspect as a nature god he was the protector of trees. He was considered somewhat effeminate or androgynous in nature. The ecstatic nature of his worship attracted many female followers, but was not as popular among men, who were uncomfortable with the female wildness associated with his rites. Myths There are not a huge number of myths centered on Dionysus, but he does feature in one well-known story. King Midas: For King Midas' hospitality to Dionysus’ foster father, Silenus, Dionysus offered the king whatever boon he wished. Midas wished that everything he touched would turn to gold. Realizing that he could not eat or drink and even turning his own daughter to gold, Midas repented of his choice of gift and prayed to Dionysus to take it away. Dionysus told him to wash in the nearby river and the gift would be taken. Minor Gods As there are literally hundreds of Greek gods and goddesses, this is not a comprehensive list. But we have outlined the most notable greek gods and goddesses other than the Twelve Olympians. Atlas- Titan Who Holds Up the Sky Atlas by Guercino, 1646 Atlas was a Titan, the Son of the Titan Iapetus and the Oceanid Clymene or Asia. He was was in the Titan army that fought against Zeus and the Olympians; as punishment he was made to bear the weight of the heavens. In art he is typically depicted as a man holding up the sky or the stars Persephone- Goddess of Spring, Queen of the Underworld The Spring Witch by George Wilson, circa 1880 Persephone was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus; the story of her abduction by Hades was detailed above. Many of her attributes as a goddess revolve around this tale. Her return to the surface world at the end of winter is what caused spring to begin as her mother allowed new growth, and her journey to Hades in the autumn caused plants to wither and die as her mother killed living things in her grief. Thus she became known as a Spring goddess as well as the Queen of the Underworld. She was worshiped with her mother as part of the Eleusinian mysteries and associated with immortality because of her cyclical passage into the underworld and return to the surface world. In her dual aspect as the bringer of spring and the queen of the Underworld, she was associated with both life and death. She is known for either bestowing favors or her wrath on the many heroic visitors to the Underworld in myth. She aided Hades in cursing the souls of the dead when necessary. Sometimes she was known as the mother of the Erinyes (the Furies) with Hades, but not always. She was depicted both as a young agriculture goddess with her mother, with a torch and sheaves of wheat, and as the throned Queen of the Underworld, sometimes besides Hades. Her major symbols are the torch, wheat, and the pomegranate. Eos- Goddess of the Dawn Evelyn de Morgan, Eos, 1895 Eos, Greek goddess of the Dawn, was the child of Titans Hyperion and Thea and the sister of Helios, the sun, and Selene, the moon. She is most notable in myth for drawing the ire of Aphrodite after taking Ares as a lover. The jealous goddess cursed her with insatiable lust, leading her to kidnap a number of handsome mortals. Eros- God of Love, Passion, and Fertility Red-figure plate with Eros by Ascoli Satriano Painter, circa 340-320 BC. Courtesy of the Walters Art Museum. Eros was originally considered one of the very first Greek gods- the son of Chaos who allowed for not only love, but fertility to come into the universe. Through the power of Eros other gods were able to reproduce and the universe as we know it was arranged. In later years, Eros was demoted to a mere son of Aphrodite (with Zeus, Ares, or Hermes depending on the tale) and simply an ancillary assistant to her powers of love, sex, and fertility. Hecate- Goddess of Witchcraft Maximilin Pirner, Hecate, 1901. Hecate, daughter of Titans Perses and Asteria, assisted Demeter in her search for Persephone, lending her torches so the search could continue into the night. When Persephone was found, Hecate remained below with Persephone and became an underworld goddess. Hecate supervised religious rites, was the mistress of demons, and was the patroness of witches. She was accompanied at all times by a black cat and a black dog. Her shrines were found at crossroads, and the Greeks would lay sacrifices at crossroads during full moons to worship her. Hecate was a goddess that most Greeks worshiped specifically to avoid the misfortunes she had the power to visit upon them. Helios- God of the Sun Relief of Helios, circa 390-275 BC Helios, Greek god of the sun, was the child of Titans Hyperion and Thea and the brother of Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn. He was sometimes called the "All-seeing" because he was said to see all that passed on earth from his chariot that pulled the sun across the sky. Helios was sometimes equated with Apollo, who was also associated with the sun, but they did have separate identities as deities. Hestia- Goddess of the Hearth and Domesticity Hestia tapestry, 6th century Egypt Hestia was the first child of the Titans Kronos and Rhea, making her sister to Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, and Hades. Some accounts place Hestia as one of the twelve Olympians; others say that she abdicated her place in favor of Dionysus so that the number could remain twelve. After both Poseidon and Apollo sought to marry her, Hestia petitioned Zeus to remain a virgin. He granted her request and made her the presiding figure over all sacrifices. She was worshiped mostly with a shrine in every family hearth, as opposed to publicly, but Greeks took the sacred fire of Hestia with them whenever they went to establish new settlements. As she never leaves her home in Olympus, she is also associated with rest and sanctuary. She is closely associated with the family and domesticity. Her symbols are fruit, oil, wine, and one-year-old cows. Iris- Goddess of the Rainbow, Messenger of the Gods Vase painting of Iris by the Diosphos painter, circa 500-490 BC; photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen Iris, like Hermes, was a messenger of the gods. Iris served as the messenger for the Olympians during the Titomachy- the war with the Titans. Associated with the rainbow, she could travel all the way from the heavens across the earth and into the underworld. Se was the child of Thaumus and the Oceanid Electra. Nike- Goddess of Victory Sculpture of Nike at Ephesus, photo by Laszlo Ilyes Nike, daughter of the giant Pallas and the river Styx, was the Greek goddess of victory. However, she did not have her own cult; she was primarily considered an attribute of Athena and Zeus. She was usually depicted with wings, carrying a palm branch, wreath, or staff to carry the message of victory. She later came to symbolize all kinds of success, not just martial victory. Nyx- Goddess of Nyx Nyx, Night Goddess by Gustave Moreau, 1880 Nyx, or night, was one of the four original forces that emerged from Chaos. Alone and with various partners, she bore many deities who functioned as the most primordial of forces. She bore Aether (Brightness) and Hemera (Day) with Erebus (Darkness). Her children that she bore alone included Hypnos (Sleep), Thanatos (Death), Geras (Old Age), the Moirai (the Fates, sometimes said to be borne with Hades), Nemesis (Retribution), Eris (Strife), and the Oneiroi (Dreams). While she was not widely worshiped, her great power was acknowledged; it was said that even Zeus feared her power and majesty. Pan- God of Fertility, Nature, Shepherds, and Goatherds Painting of Pan, Arnold Bocklin, 1864-1865 The child of Hermes and Dryope, Pan was born with the horns, legs, and ears of a goat. When he was born, his mother was so alarmed by his animalistic appearance that she ran away screaming- hence the term "panic." Pan was a god of untamed nature and lusty fertility. He was known for his many amorous pursuits and his pipe-playing ability. Interestingly, many of his goatlike characteristics later became associated with Christian conceptions of the Devil! Selene- Goddess of the Moon Albert Aublet, Selene, 1880 Selene was the Greek goddess of the moon, worshiped primarily at the new and full moons. She was the child of Titans Hyperion and Thea and sister of Helios and Eos. Other than her aspect as moon goddess, Selene is known primarily for her relationship with her mortal lover Endymion, her sleeping prince, who wakes only when she visits him and so never ages or dies. Selene is typically represented as a woman crowned with the crescent moon, driving a chariot. Themis- Goddess of Justice, Wisdom, and Divine Law School of Marcello Bacciarelli, early 18th century, Allegory of Justice- Themis Themis, a child of Uranus and Gaea, was Zeus’ second consort before he married Hera; with him she bore the Horae (the goddesses of the seasons and time). Sometimes the Moirai (the fates) and the Hesperides are also listed as children of Themis and Zeus. As the personification of divine law, Themis was fairly widely worshiped in Greece. She was considered a goddess of order who supervised rituals and ceremonies. She was also connected with prophecy and oracles. Themis is typically depicted as a serious woman carrying scales. 3 Famous Greek Goddess Groups Many minor Greek deities were conceived of as groups of beings, usually goddesses who were sisters. While this is not a comprehensive list, we have identified some of the most important groups of Greek goddesses here. The Furies- Goddesses of Vengance Megaera, Tisiphone, and Alecto by Gustave Dore The Furies (or the "Erinyes," the angry ones) were Greek goddesses of vengeance, possibly identified as personified curses or the ghosts of the murdered. Sometimes they are described as children of Gaia and Uranus who sprang up from the blood of Uranus’ severed genitals, while in other tellings they are the daughters of Nyx and Hades. They reside in the underworld, but pursue the wicked across the surface of the earth. They could torment an entire community for an unpunished crime. They were usually depicted as grim young women wearing black mourning attire. It was only later that the number and identity of the individual furies was established. There were thought to be three: Alecto ("unceasing in anger") Tisiphone (avenger of murder") Megaera ("jealous") Due to Greek superstition, they were often referred to euphemistically as the Eumenides ("the kind ones") or the Semnai Theai ("venerable goddesses.") The Muses- Goddesses of Art and Science The Dance of the Muses by Joseph Paelinck, 1832 The muses, daughters of Zeus and the Titan Mnemosyne ("memory"), were the group of Greek goddesses considered responsible for artistic (and sometimes scientific) inspiration. The were the patronesses of poets, artists, musicians, dancers, seekers of knowledge, and so on. They were led by Apollo and associated with wells and springs. The muses were unmarried but various muses gave birth to many famous mythic figures, like Orpheus, Hyacinthus, and the Sirens. In some early accounts there are only three muses, but the standard number is nine. While the Greeks would have primarily considered the muses a unit, the Romans ascribed specific artistic and scientific domains to each muse, although not in a standardized way. Clio, "the proclaimer"- history Euterpe, "the well-pleasing"- tragedy or music/flutes/lyric poetry Thalia, "the blooming"- comedy Melpomene, "the songstress"- tragedy and lyre playing Terpsichore, "delighting in the dance"- lyric poetry, dancing, and/or flute playing (origin of the word "terpsichorean"- pertaining to dancing) Erato, "the lovely"- lyric and love poetry Polyhymnia, "she of the many hymns"- sacred poetry, or mimicry, or dancing, or geometry Urania, "the heavenly"- astronomy Calliope, "she of the beautiful voice"- heroic or epic poetry; most notable of the nine muses The Fates- Goddesses of Destiny The Three Fates, Bernardo Strozzi, before 1664 Goddesses of: Human destiny About These Goddesses: These Greek goddesses, known as the Moirai, were considered daughters of Nyx or, less frequently, daughters of Zeus and Themis. They determined mortals' lifespans and their shares of misery and suffering and were imagined as three very old women who quite literally spun the thread that made up individual human destiny: Clotho, "spinner"- spun the thread of human fate Lachesis, "allotter"- dispensed the thread Atropos, "inflexible"- cut it (causing death) Greek Gods Family Tree Below see the family tree of the main Olympian Greek gods and goddesses as it is most commonly understood today. However, it’s important to emphasize that the relationships between the gods were not static and shifted over time, sometimes dramatically- as we see with Eros, who was originally considered one of the original children of Chaos and later became a mere son of Aphrodite, no longer one of the primordial forces that shaped the initial universe. On this Greek gods family tree, a single arrow shows offspring, with branching arrows representing siblings. A double line bond means a partnership of marriage and/or children. The pink boxes indicate the Twelve Olympians. The Worship of the Greek Goddesses and Gods Greek worship involved rites, oracles, sacrifices, and festivals. The most formal elements of worship were place-based: gods were worshiped at their own particular temples and sacred sites through specific rites and rituals. Priests (and/or priestesses) to a particular god would oversee the rites associated with that god, which often involved animal sacrifice and the pouring of wine (the libration). Priests and priestesses also interpreted oracles at sacred oracle sites like Delphi. Interestingly, many priestesses either had to be virgins or past menopause. Outside of more formal rites, Greek citizens also offered sacrifices to particular gods to give thanks or to invoke their protection. They might also pray to the appropriate god for a particular concern or issue, and make some kind of offering if they felt the prayer was answered. The other main component of Greek worship was the festival. Festivals centered around music, theatre, and sports (like the Olympics!) were held to honor the gods. Those are some general trends in worship. However, it is difficult to make absolute statements on exactly how specific gods were worshiped, because a lot of worship was very localized. Different city-states had their own preeminent deities, and might worship particular deities in different ways. Furthermore, ideas about the gods and how they were related to each other, especially in terms of marriage and parentage, were constantly shifting over time. Newer gods (for example, from neighboring countries) were often incorporated into the pantheon, and some gods would be combined or fade in eminence over time. Nonetheless, the main figures of the Greek pantheon and the mythology surrounding them were clearly well-developed by around the 8th B.C., when Homer crafted the Iliad and the Odyssey. However, it’s worth noting that just because a god was included in the twelve Olympians does not mean they were widely worshiped- for example, there was very little worship of Hades. Conversely, some very widely worshiped figures were not in the main Olympian pantheon, like Themis. Due to close contact between the Greeks and Romans, the Roman pantheon was very influenced by Greek mythology, and many Roman gods took on the attributes and myths of similar Greek gods. Some Greek gods are also worshiped today, as part of Neo-pagan religions. The theater was often part of religious festivals in ancient Greece. Greek Goddesses and Gods Today The Greek gods continue to be a source of fascination and inspiration in all areas of human endeavor. There have been many operas, ballets, and theater productions based on Greek myth throughout all of history. The Greek gods were a huge inspiration to Romantic and Neoclassical artists and poets. More recently, the Greek gods have inspired tons of movies, TV shows, books, comic books, and video games. Some notable pop-culture works that have borrowed or adapted Greek mythology include: The 1997 Disney movie Hercules TV show Xena: Warrior Princess The 1981 and 2010 films Clash of the Titans Wonder Woman comics The Percy Jackson book series by Rick Riordan The God of War video game franchise Additionally, many astronomical bodies like asteroids and asteroid belts, moons, stars, planets, and comets are named for figures of Greek and Roman mythology. Most of the planets in our own solar system are named for Roman deities, but many of the moons and asteroids are named for Greek deities. For example, the Demeter asteroid belt, Themis, a moon of Saturn, and Eris, a dwarf planet. L. Calà §ada and Nick Risinger, artistic rendering of dwarf planet Eris The Greek Gods and Goddesses: Key Points to Remember Unlike modern gods, who are generally thought of as benevolent and all-knowing, Greek gods personified the forces that organized and drove the world. As such, they were just as often petty and violent as they were just and magnanimous within Greek myth. Within myth, the Olympian gods rose to power after a war with the Titans. The Twelve Olympians were: Zeus, king of the gods and god of storms Hera, wife of Zeus, goddess of marriage and childbirth, the heavens Poseidon, god of the sea Demeter, goddess of agriculture and fertility Hades, god of the underworld Athena, goddess of wisdom, craftsmanship, war Hephaestus, god of smiths and fire Aphrodite, goddess of love, passion, and fertility Ares, god of war and battle frenzy Artemis, goddess of the hunt and nature Apollo, god of prophecy, the arts, music, and healing Hermes, messenger of the gods, god of travelers Dionysus, god of wine, celebration, and frenzy In addition to the Twelve Olympians, there were also hundreds of other gods worshiped throughout Greece. Some were mostly considered aspects or minions of more major deities, while others had robust cults of their own. What's Next? The Greek gods and goddesses may have gotten up to some crazy shenanigans, but they served as inspiration for religions that followed. Learn about the 20th-century's Aleister Crowley and the multiple religions he was involved in here. What is agnosticism and what does it mean to be agnostic? Find out with our guide to the origin of the term and how agnosticism is practiced.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Quotation Marks, Apostrophes, and Other Raised Symbols

Quotation Marks, Apostrophes, and Other Raised Symbols Quotation Marks, Apostrophes, and Other Raised Symbols Quotation Marks, Apostrophes, and Other Raised Symbols By Mark Nichol This post details the function of various symbols that appear the top of a line of type to communicate additional information about the text. Apostrophe The apostrophe signals that, depending on usage, one or more letters are missing or are being added to perform a grammatical function. An apostrophe marks omission of one or more letters (as in the contraction of cannot to can’t or, in an extreme case, of the substitution of fo’c’stle for forecastle) marks possessive case (as in â€Å"John’s hat† or â€Å"the girls’ smiles†) marks plurals of individual characters, as in â€Å"dot the i’s and cross the t’s.† Quotation Marks The primary use of double quotation marks (called, in British English, inverted commas) is to indicate direct quotation of spoken or written content. (Single quotation marks are used only to frame quotations within quotations, as in this section of this post, or in technical usage such as in linguistics texts.) A self-contained quotation is capitalized (â€Å"She asked, ‘Where are you going?’†) A partial quotation is not capitalized when it is syntactically integrated into the framing sentence (â€Å"He explained that they ‘had some issues to work out.’†) They also frame meanings and definitions (â€Å"That sign means ‘Stop’†; â€Å"The definition of insanity is ‘Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’†). Quotation marks are sometimes employed as scare quotes and sneer quotes, which emphasize ironic usage (â€Å"After the bombing, no one remained alive in the village to celebrate its ‘pacification’†) or signal that a writer is using but not endorsing a term (â€Å"Beware executives who want to ‘leverage’ everything†). They are unnecessary when naming something, even when the term is slang used for a meaning other than its original sense (â€Å"The process of extracting digital content is called ripping†). Use of so-called preceding a term in scare quotes is redundant. Avoid use of quotation marks to set off clichà ©s (â€Å"This behavior creates lethal ‘blind spots’ in an organization†). Quotations also set off titles of components of compositions when referred to elsewhere than in the composition itself, such as references to the following: newspaper or magazine articles titles of chapters in a book titles of short stories or short poems names of episodes of television series titles of songs titles of speeches In addition, quotations frame a term consisting of more than one word when the term refers to itself rather than to the concept the term represents (â€Å"What does â€Å"net neutrality† mean?); italicize single words used as words (â€Å"The word strike can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adjective†). Avoid using straight quotation marks (), which have a plain, primitive appearance. (But see below.) Prime A prime is a symbol similar to an apostrophe or a close quotation mark that in technical usage follows a number to denote a unit; in lay content, a single prime (†²) most frequently represents feet or minutes, and a double prime (†³) indicates inches or seconds (â€Å"The deck is 10†² 6†³ by 12†²Ã¢â‚¬ ) or minutes (â€Å"The duration was 3†² 36†³Ã¢â‚¬ ). (There are also triple and quadruple primes.) Primes are sometimes indicated by simple straight quotation marks ( and ). These symbols (which originated as miniature Roman numerals I, II, and III) are best reserved for informal use or in practical content such as text about woodworking, or in charts or tables. Otherwise, spelling out the terms the primes represent is recommended. Ordinal Indicator An ordinal indicator is a superscripted, or raised, number, letter, or other character used in text as a cross-reference to a footnote or endnote or a list of referenced sources. These are employed, especially in academic texts, to direct readers to additional information that would be distracting if embedded in the running, or regular, text. When encountering an ordinal indicator, readers can ignore it or can direct their attention to the cross-referenced material and then return to the position of the indicator and resume reading the running text. Superscript characters are located directly after the pertinent word, phrase, or sentence in the text, though they follow, rather than precede, punctuation (with the exception of a dash, which the indicator should precede). Degree Symbol The degree symbol ( °), following a number, most often represents degrees of arc or of temperature, though it has other specialized functions. Usually, the symbol is appropriate only for technical usage or for charts and tables and should be replaced by degrees in lay content. Asterisk An asterisk (*)- the word is from the Greek word for â€Å"little star†- has various functions in scientific disciplines, but in general writing, it is used as an ordinal indicator when, because of the small number of notes in a text, a sequential system of numbers or letters are not required. (However, sometimes, when there are a handful of references requiring such indicators but numbers or letters are not used, other symbols such as the dagger and double dagger are employed in a traditional hierarchy.) Asterisks also take the place of bullets, frame a word or phrase to represent italic or boldface type when it is not available, and appear in a group of three centered on a page to denote a major narrative transition. Bullet A bullet is a typographic mark, usually a solid dot but often represented by other characters, used in a vertical list when numbers are not appropriate because the list is not hierarchical or sequential. (See this post and others at DailyWritingTips.com for more information about vertical lists.) Ditto Mark A ditto mark is a close quotation mark used to represent a repeated number, word, or phrase, as in an inventory list in which the quantity of one item is identical to that of another item. It is generally not used in formal writing; in informal usage, the word ditto is shorthand for â€Å"the same,† as in the declaration â€Å"I’m hungry,† and the response â€Å"Ditto,† indicating that the respondent is also hungry. Dagger A dagger is a typographical mark resembling a knife pointing downward, or a Christian cross. The dagger, and the double dagger, often appearing more as a plus sign stacked atop another, are sometimes used to signal a footnote when an asterisk has already been employed. The daggers also have distinct uses in notation for various disciplines and pastimes. Intellectual-Property Symbols The symbols  ©,  ®, â„  , and â„ ¢ denote specific rights to intellectually property, including compositions, brand names, and the like. They are employed in commercial communications to represent that the users are honoring the right of the copyright holder or trademark holder, for example, to claim the intellectual property, but they are not required when mentioning, for example a brand name. Publishers are required, however, to obtain permission to reproduce, for example, an excerpt from a song’s lyrics. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:25 Subordinating ConjunctionsThe Many Forms of the Verb TO BEMankind vs. Humankind

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Conflicts of interest in nowadays business Essay

Conflicts of interest in nowadays business - Essay Example Primary interests include all the responsibilities a person has at work depending on his/her kind of activity. Secondary interests are personal purposes and wishes such as making career, money making, doing favors for relatives. Certainly, financial motives are the most widespread causes of conflict of interest occurrence. Actually, personal interests are natural as all the people have them; however, they can easily become obnoxious in case if their motivation becomes stronger in comparison with primary interests’ motivation. The conflict of interest may be frequently present in the dormant form, but it turns into the real conflict when the person is really strongly influenced by secondary interests. Thus, there is a notion â€Å"conflict in a conflict of interests†. It appears in case when the risk of acting following secondary interests is present. More general interpretation of conflict of interest states that it is the circumstances in which a person or a company us es the official authorities for personal advantage. Actually, only the presence of conflict of interest is not considered as bad behavior as this is natural that employees or executives do have conflict of interest sometimes. ... Really, as it was explained above, conflict of interest may be present but the fact of misdeed may be absent at the same time. Here it is essential to introduce the notion of â€Å"conflict of roles† when a person has two roles at once and they are conflicting. For example, he/she may have governmental position and may own stock at the same time. Such differing of roles sometimes can lead to misdeed and misuse. Conflicts of interests may have different forms. The first form is self-dealing conflict of interest when an individual who is working in one company has a deal with the individual from another company for his own advantage. The second form is connected to the conflict of roles when a person has two jobs and the interests of one contradict the interests of another. The next form is related to family interests when a person may give to his/her relative a desired and prestigious job or an individual may buy something from the company his relative works in. Another popular form is making presents to a person who you work with. One of the important purposes of political ethics is to regulate the conflicts of interests, because the primary task of governmental officials is to provide public service not taking into account their personal interests. â€Å"Where a  conflict  exists, it should be dealt with in a transparent and accountable way. Even the mere perception that a  conflict  of  interest  has influenced an outcome can undermine public confidence in an organization’s integrity.   Having a clear policy which details specific reporting procedures and staff who are fully aware  of  their obligations to disclose any  conflicts  of  interest are effective ways  of  ensuing that they are handled appropriately, before they give rise to

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Madeleine An Autobiography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Madeleine An Autobiography - Essay Example Madeleine lived in a society which would rather abhor social digresses like Madeleine than treating the cause of digression. Being a woman of the late Gilded Age, Madeleine had to suffer from the social problems such as gender discrimination, moral decay, the rapid collapse of the rural economy, etc which were directly related to industrialization and urbanization. Though the Gilded Age experienced the boom of the mechanized urban economy, it was not prepared enough to face the commotions and moral decay that the collapse of the rural decline. Women, of affluent social status, like Madeleine, could hardly bear the insult which the society inflicted upon for them for the moral digression. But the society could do little to protect them from the lust of their male counterparts. Therefore, being forced by circumstances, they choose prostitution to save their own lives.  Being raised with pure Christian teachings in an economically affluent family, Madeleine could have fairly managed a decent way of living for herself. â€Å"She was brought up in a strict heaven-and-hell belief† (Madeleine 34). Even her great-grandfather was quite well-known for his religiosity. He was â€Å"often quick to anger, she said, but he was also quick to repentance, and if he had offended relative or friend he asked his pardon and the pardon of God before he slept.† (Madeleine 45) Though Madeleine’s religious background and teaching were few of psychological strengths which could protect her from being a prostitute. But ironically her family background and religious teachings contribute to the growth of self-reproach, for her juvenile pregnancy, so strongly that she took a wrong decision to run away from Mrs. James’s house in Missouri.  Even if she could remain with her mother in her hometown, she might have received her mother’s proper attention. She needed parental support in her home. She â€Å"needed both her parents† (Madeleine 23).  

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Notes on Religious Views on Life After Death Essay Example for Free

Notes on Religious Views on Life After Death Essay Question is What are we made of and what survives after death of the body. If anything survives how much of the original identity of that person survives and in what form? People try to answer this by: Believing in a superior being who has communicated a promise Gathering data about LAD near death experiences, past life memories that suggest reincarnation, the para-normal Accepting no life after death we are matter and return to matter and become part of the wider world again Exploring ideas about the nature of body and soul Some Christians believe death is the event that makes sense of our previous lives and the meaning of death itself is changed in the promise of eternal life. John Hick, it should not evoke the sickening fear with which we face what we know to be evil It is a fuller stage in the outworking of the Creators loving purpose for his children. SOURCES Revealed Knowledge The Bible, Quran, Torah etc which tell us of the events others have experienced and what they claim and to those who accept them as revealed knowledge this gives certainty. Christians believe that Jesus was and is God Incarnate, so if he promises eternal life to his followers, he must be trusted. Similarly Muslims trust the Prophet Mohammed as Allahs chosen messenger and as he has spoken of paradise, then there must be such a place. Inferential Knowledge Reasoning that the ideas expressed explain so much that they must be true even if theres no proof = a belief. Hindus do not have any promise in scripture, but they trust their God loves them and so will e god to them upon death. In neither case is there absolute proof the believer trusts that it is true. Religious views Christian Old Testament good and bad alike to go to Sheol as ghostlike individuals Job 14.7-12 Theres hope is a tree is cut down as buds can grow from the trunk but man lies down and does not rise again. However he also believes that if he has a personal relationship with God which is beyond the trials of this life he will be with God at the end. New Testament the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ is at the heart of the belief in LAD,. Jesuss promise to the good thief crucified with him This day you will be with me in paradise only appears in the Gospel of Luke indicates that he believes in the possibility of paradise for the righteous and the repentant. However the translation of paradise could also refer to a pleasant place. Jesus referred to heaven as the place where God lived Our Father which art in heaven Book of Revelations contains visions of Saints whose bloody robes have been washed clean in the blood of the lamb (Christ) in a heavenly city, the new Jerusalem. It is clear there is a heaven after death, which is separate from the last judgment, also known as the second coming, which will happen at the end of time. The term eschatalogical gap refers to the gap between whats in the bible and the precise details of the afterlife Purgatory Roman Catholics only people have to atone for sin before they can enter heaven no scriptural evidence for this idea Limbo not in current use, but Catholics used to believe the unbaptised or good people whod never heard of Jesus would go here. Protestants believed such people would go straight to hell as God would have called those to be saved. One reference in Peters letters The spirits who are in prison Reincarnation some Christians have accepted this in the past but not currently in use. Catholics in particular value appearances by Mary (Lourdes, Fatima etc) and other saints after their death as confirming an after life. Quakers religious body without creeds and so base beliefs on experience, life experience varies and therefore so do views on LAD. Three main views bit these are not fixed, all beliefs are personal. 1. The good we have done (and possibly the evil) lives on after we have gone in the lives of those affected this might be as memories or as the impact of deeds 2. Survival of the Human Spirit as a continuation of this life in a spiritual body (St Pauls term). Some also believe in reincarnation 3. Acceptance of heaven and hell as destinations after death but belief in a Loving God and redemption through Christ means hell cannot be eternal Personal conclusions about LAD are based on individual experiences of the Love of God in this life in spite of the experience of suffering. Therevada Buddists Nirvana achieved in this life, without substrate and so continuing to live in bodily form is described as a set of qualities in The Questions of King Milinda. He asks Nagasena whether he can compare it to anything in this world to help him understand. Nagasena says it cant be compared to anything, but its qualities can. E.g As a lotus is unsustained by water, so Nirvana is unsustained by all the defilements Islam God has a plan for the whole universe and all human beings At the day of judgement to whole universe will be destroyed and the dead raised to stand before him That day will be the beginning of an unending life on which every individual will be judged and rewarded by God according to their deeds. The Quran argues that life after death is vital of make sense of morality. If there is no afterlife then a belief in God is irrelevant. Hindus believe in certain heavenly states, notably Goloka, Krishnas heaven for devotees, but there is little justification in scripture. Hindus believe as a God loves his people he must be good to them when they die. The Resurrection of the Body Key Christian belief is that the individual survives as an individual. Also that the individual is judged as a individual Jesuss resurrection and ascension is the model we will follow as he was sent to show us the way, the truth and the light.. The Apostles and Nicene Creed both affirm belief in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come Tey also refer to the communion of saints which refers to the Church as one body uniting those in heaven and those on earth. The point of the Creed is to reinforce belief in the face of challenges Christians believe that man can be saved as a whole, body and soul man can glorify God through his body as he is made in the image of God, the body can become a sacrifice to God and also a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, (Corinthians 6.19-20,Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?). Also Christ at the Last Supper gave his Body and Blood as a means of salvation, so the human body is important On the same day as jesuss resurrection Matthews gospel reports dead prophets rising from their graves indicating a bodily resurrection. Paul speaks of us dying and rising with Christ in Baptism as a spiritual experience (Romans 6.5-11) but he is clear that the body will be resurrected after death however in 1 Corinthians 15-50 he also says flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Irenaeus and Tertullian both interpret this to mean that flesh is resurrected for judgment and that the Spirit must be present in the flesh to enter heaven. The Creed also affirms belief in the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthains 15.35-50 Paul is asked How are the dead raised? He uses the analogy of a seed and a bulb to show that something completely different can arise from a source. At h time there was a commonly held belief that the flesh would be resurrected the corpse Paul tried to make it clear that the body refers to the whole personality and person, both inner and outer. Through Adam we are part of the physical sphere and through Christ we are part of the spiritual sphere Christ was man and God together we are physical body and spiritual body together. Paul does not describe the spiritual body.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

The Role of Computer Generated Imagery in the Movie (Film) Industry :: Expository Essays Research Papers

The Role of Computer Generated Imagery in the Film Industry Computer Generated Imagery is the special effects used in motion pictures to create a visual depiction of an illusion that can not be easily created in real life. Directors of major motion pictures have been using these technologies since the early days of the personal computer. Early on, when and special effects were in their beginning stages, it was difficult to make efficient and effective effects that are well accepted by the movie critics and the general public. An evolution of special effects and the introduction of computerized animation brought the standards for movie effects to a higher level. The development of new methods of Computer Generated Imagery for less money and more effective than in the past has allowed even fairly low budget movies to incorporate such technology. Today, movies use CGI to create special effects to replace thousands of extras, stunt people, and puppet like characters, as witnessed in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The evolution of special effects and Computer Generated Imagery technologies has taken the film industry to a whole new level. Computer Generated Imagery began with awkward and dull effects in the early 1980’s. The 1982 film â€Å"Tron† was a desperate attempt from Disney to jump on the CGI bandwagon and start a revolution in film making technologies (imdb.com). Although this film showed an attempt at something that had never been done before in the history of cinematics, it was weird and confusing. This broke the door down for other companies to start up and aid films in creating better and better effects that appealed to a larger market. Although the effects were not good in the early days, the general film going public was astonished by computer generated effects and flocked to the theaters to see these cheesy attempts to use basic technology that did not transfer well to the silver screen. It was not until later films like â€Å"Jurassic Park,† â€Å"Toy Story,† and â€Å"The Lord of the Rings† until CGI became a film making powerhouse and the killer application for hig h budget movies. The evolution of the 1980’s saw the pioneers of the early ages of CGI, but it was not until major revolutions in computer aided film making when the industry took a notice. Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film â€Å"Jurassic Park,† one of the first major motion pictures to use CGI on a large scale, is one of the largest grossing movies of all time (imdb.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Analysis of Hong Kong Economy During Financial Crisis

 ·808 · Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Innovation & Management An Analysis of the Hong Kong Economy after the Financial Crisis Cao Hongliu School of Management, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangdong, P. R. China, 510520 (E-mail: [email  protected] com) Abstract This paper analyzes the current economic development and the status of leading industries in Hong Kong. It shows that Hong Kong economy, which is mainly comprised of the service industry in particular, facing with both opportunities and challenges after the financial crisis.Hong Kong economy has a wide range of needs in information technology, electrical and electronic technology, and manufacturing technology. Development in these areas has great significance to ensure sustained development of Hong Kong economy. Key words Hong Kong economy status; Leading industry; Service industry 1 Introduction Hong Kong’s a small and open economy system and international financial center, its economi c development face many new challenges because of the impact of the global financial crisis.Therefore, a comprehensive analysis of the Hong Kong’s economic development and their leading industry status becomes an important issue. 2 Overview of Hong Kong Economy 2. 1 The services sector is a leading industry in Hong Kong From Table 1, we can see that the services industry is a leading industry of Hong Kong economy. During the decade from 1997 to 2006, services sector in the Hong Kong economy has gained greater prominence. This change has already been reflected in the share of contribution of the services sector to the local GDP.The contribution of the services sector to GDP increased from 85. 9% in 1997 to 91. 2% in 2006. Based on the industry definition of Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, The services sector includes wholesale, retail and import and export trades, restaurants and hotels; transport, storage and communications; financing, insurance, real estate and b usiness services; and community, social and personal services. Table 1 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Economic Activity (at Current Prices) GDP by Economic Activity(2004-2007) 2004 2005 2006 2007Economic activity Agriculture and fishing Mining and quarrying Manufacturing Electricity, gas and water Construction GDP 886 72 44455 39726 40376 ratio 0. 1 * 3. 6 3. 2 3. 2 GDP 847 100 45547 39924 38538 ratio 0. 1 * 3. 4 3 2. 9 GDP 849 93 45761 40364 38688 ratio 0. 1 * 3. 2 2. 8 2. 7 GDP 895 114 39282 39426 40154 ratio 0. 1 * 2. 5 2. 5 2. 6 Services 1119304 89. 9 1207873 90. 6 1297545 91. 2 1429293 92. 3 Note: Data is from Hong Kong Annual Digest of Statistics (2004-2008 Edition) edited by Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department. Data unit is in million terms and ratio unit is %.Besides, * represents the comparison had less than 0. 05% is in the total economy The services sector becomes the principal source of employment. The employment share of the services sector in total employment h as increased moderately over the past decade, from 79. 8% in 1997 to 86. 6% in 2007. In 2007, the services sector as a whole engaged 3. 03 million persons out of the 3. 5 million overall employments. The services sector plays a significant role in supporting the growth of our external trade. In 2007, the value of exports of services reached $652 billion, representing an average annual growth rate ofProceedings of the 7th International Conference on Innovation & Management  ·809 · 8. 6% over 1997. In 2007, merchant and other trade-related services was the most important major service group, contributing 30. 9% to the value of total exports of services. It was followed by transportation services and travel services, contributing 28. 6% and 16. 5% respectively to the value of total exports of services in 2007. In 1997, the respective percentage shares of these three major service groups in the value of total exports of services were 25. 6%, 30. % and 20. 8%. 2. 2 The structure of H ong Kong’s services industry sector Among the economic activities in the services sector, wholesale, retail and import and export trades, restaurants and hotels together contributed 27. 9% of the GDP in 2006, followed by financing, insurance, real estate and business services (25. 0%), community, social and personal services (18. 0%) and transport, storage and communications (9. 6%). Among them, financial services, trading, tourism and professional services are key industries in the Hong Kong economy.They have been the driving force of Hong Kong’s economic growth, providing impetus to growth of other sectors and creating employment. (1) Import and export trade . The import and export trade is the most important industries in Hong Kong’s service industry, has been playing an important role in the development of Hong Kong economy. The import and export trade produced a net output of HK$305. 1 billion in 2006, representing an increase of 39% over 1997. The ratio is the highest among all service industry. In 2007, there were 98 000 import and export trading establishments in Hong Kong, with 520 000 persons.At the same time, import and export trade sector is also directly promoting the development of other industries, such as logistics, transportation, business services and other services. Hong Kong’s import and export trade, including the visible trade and invisible trade two parts. The visible trade refers to the traditional commodity trade. In 2007, the value of Hong Kong imported and exported goods was $5,556 billion, representing an increase of 9. 8% compared to 2006. Hong Kong’s total exports of goods (comprising domestic exports and re-exports) in 2007 amounted to $2,688 billion, or increased by 9. % when compared with 2006. The value of imports increased by 10. 3% to $2,868 billion in 2007. With the value of total exports being less than that of imports, a merchandise trade deficit of $180 billion was recorded in 2007. In the import and export trade, the largest proportion of re-exports. This was largely attributable to the relocation of many local manufacturing activities to the mainland of China. Quite a large amount of the goods produced in the mainland of China through the outward processing arrangement were sent back to Hong Kong and re-exported to other countries/territories.During 1997 to 2007, the value of re-exports increased by 107%, while a decline of 48% was observed in the value of domestic exports. In 2007 the re-export trade to the mainland continued to grow rapidly. The invisible trade services are export and import trade of commercial services and financial services. While these services could be exported or imported by the import/export firms or companies in other sectors, most of the merchant and other trade-related services were exported or imported by import/export firms . In 2007, Hong Kong’s exports and imports of services valued at $652 billion and $322 billion respecti vely.Compared to 2006, exports and imports of services increased by 15. 4% and 11. 7% respectively. Net exports of services in 2007 amounted to $330 billion, this makes Hong Kong’s overall trade surplus of $150 billion. (2) Finance. Hong Kong is recognized as an international financial center, many multinational banks and financial institutions gathered here. The financial business is classified in detail, covering all aspects of the financial industry. Hong Kong three-tier system of deposit-taking institutions, namely licensed banks, restricted licensed banks and deposit-taking companies, known collectively as the authorized institutions.At the end of 2007, the number of authorized institutions stood at 200, comprising 142 licensed banks, 29 restricted license banks and 29 deposit-taking companies. 68 of them were incorporated in Hong Kong and 132 were incorporated outside Hong Kong. In addition, there were 79 representative offices of foreign banks coming from 27 economies/ regions. As at end December 2007, 152 of the largest 500 banks in the world had a presence in Hong Kong. The value added generated by the banking industry amounted to $136. 5 billion, or 9. 6% of Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2006, representing an increase of 41. % compared with 1997. The development of the banking sector also promotes the development of other financial industries. In 2007, some 2 940 establishments and about 32 400 persons were engaged in the business. These included stock and share companies; commodity futures, gold bullion and foreign exchange brokers/dealers; stock, bullion and commodity exchanges; fund management companies; investment advisory companies; and firms providing other various financial services. The financial markets and asset management industry generated value added of about $59. billion, contributing to 4. 1% of Hong Kong’s GDP in 2006.  ·810 · Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Innovation & Managem ent Hong Kong is also the Securities and Exchange Center and an important place for the mainland enterprises to raise funds. At the end of 2007, 1 048 companies were listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx), with a total market capitalization of $20,536 billion. Despite an increase of only 7. 5% in the number of listed companies, market capitalization was observed to rise 55. 0% over 2006.Since July 1993 when the first Chinese state owned company was listed on the HKEx through issuance of H shares, the role of Hong Kong as a major fund-raising centre for the mainland of China had become increasingly important. By the end of 2007, there were 146 H shares listed on the HKEx, with market capitalization of $5,080 billion. In addition, there were also 93 â€Å"Red Chips† companies and 200 private enterprises listed on HKEx. Hong Kong is one of the most active and liberal debt markets and a leading asset management centre in Asia. (3) Tourism . In 2007, 51 900 persons were engaged in industries closely related o tourism, such as hotels and travel agents and 315 300 persons in industries partly related to tourism such as restaurants, retailers, transport operators and other service providers serving visitors. In terms of economic contribution, inbound tourism and outbound tourism together generated $45. 3 billion value added and 176 300 job opportunities in 2006, or 3. 2% of total GDP and 5. 2% of total employment of Hong Kong respectively. The number of incoming visitors in 2007 reached 28. 2 million, increased by 11. 6% as compared with 25. 3 million in 2006 and set the highest record for visitor arrivals in history.The mainland of China remained the major source market of visitors to Hong Kong since 1994. Visitor arrivals from the mainland of China reached 15. 5 million in 2007, accounted for 55. 0% of the total visitor arrivals, followed by South and Southeast Asia (10. 3%) and Taiwan (7. 9%). In addition, Hong Kong i s Asia’s major trade exhibition and business conference center. A total of 218 conventions and 78 exhibitions with international participation were held in Hong Kong in 2006. (4) Professional service . The professional service is Hong Kong’s fourth-largest service industry.The professional services industry generated $40 billion of value added, or 2. 8% of Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in 2006 and provided job opportunities for about 106 000 persons in 2007. In 2007, there were about 13 500 professional services establishments, including 3 900 accounting, auditing and bookkeeping firms, 1 800 solicitor and barrister firms, 3 300 architectural, surveying and engineering firms and some 4 500 management consultant firms. The business receipts of professional services industry increased by 10. 7% in 2007 over a year earlier.The development of professional services industry over the past decade was quite remarkable. Number of establishments and persons en gaged increased by 35% and 23% respectively between 1997 and 2007. During the same period, the total number of registered professionals also increased remarkably, with certified public accountants increasing at the fastest rate of 7. 3% per year on average. 2. 3 Manufacturing company is the support for the Hong Kong service industry In this paper, the Hong Kong Manufacturing Company refers specifically to the Hong Kong manufacturing companies in the mainland.The rapid expansion of Hong Kong’s service industries in the past two decades benefited from the development of the Hong Kong Manufacturing Company and the sub-contracting business model. In the late 80’s, under the pressure of high land prices, high rents, high labor costs, a large number of Hong Kong manufacturers shifted their production to the Mainland, where the land and labor costs were relatively low, in particular the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong Province. And because of the changes in the business, many original manufacturing companies become the service company.These companies transferred their manufacturing factories to the Mainland, and kept the headquarters and other high value-added services such as marketing, order processing, material procurement, design, packaging, logistics business in Hong Kong. This business model is known as â€Å"shop in front and factory in back† mode. At the same time, in order to adapt to the changes in international markets and increase exports, many traditional trading companies, set up manufacturing factories in mainland, and formed a sub-contracting operation mode.In the sub-contractors mode, products manufactured in the mainland branch companies, headquarters in Hong Kong focused its efforts on trade, market and management. This mode of operation combined the mainland companies’ low-cost production advantage and the Hong Kong trading companies’ familiar with the international market advantage together, promoted the expediti ons of business of Hong Kong trade companies and improved their production efficiency. This production mode provided a strong support to the development of Hong Kong’s service industry.The financial crisis press great operating pressure to the Hong Kong Manufacturing Company. Mostly concentrated in the Pearl River Delta region, the types of these companies are sound equipment, electrical appliances, toys, clothing, footwear and other labor-intensive industries. The development of these enterprises is based on low labor and land inputs, production technology is very low. With the Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Innovation & Management  ·811 · labor, land costs rising substantially in the Pearl River Delta region, the ompetitive advantages of the Hong Kong Manufacturing Company decreased a lot in recent years. Under the impact of the financial crisis, there has an obvious drop in experts of these labor-intensive consumer goods. Many Hong Kong Manufacturin g Companies face the problem of orders reduction, profit decline, and even bankruptcy. 3 Hong Kong’s Economic Problems under the Global Financial Crisis Table 2 1997-2007 Business Receipts Indices 1997 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Wholesale/Retail Import and export trade Restaurants Hotels Transport Storage Communications Banking Financing (except banking) Insurance 24. 4 107. 2 104. 7 99 61. 7 157. 1 127. 1 84. 1 79. 8 38. 2 88. 3 75. 5 94. 9 73. 1 68. 8 81. 1 96. 6 86. 4 56 59. 2 85. 8 80. 4 85. 7 58. 8 69. 1 77. 4 94. 3 86. 4 65. 7 70. 5 93. 8 90. 5 94. 3 81. 9 85 90. 6 95. 1 90. 2 87. 5 86. 2 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 107. 4 110. 2 109. 5 113. 7 110. 6 110. 2 100. 8 119. 5 147. 9 121. 3 99. 6 119. 6 114 109. 7 120. 6 119. 1 124. 2 131. 1 122. 6 127. 8 110. 8 165. 3 249. 7 156. 2 139. 3 135. 4 135. 4 117. 1 Real estate 135. 6 71. 5 75. 9 86. 2 Business 119. 7 87. 88. 1 95. 3 services Tourism 91. 5 75. 5 70 88. 5 Computer and 53. 1 63. 7 67. 3 81. 1 information services Note: Data is from Hong Kong Annual Digest of Statistics(2008 Edition) Statistics Department. Table 3 2005 edited by Hong Kong Census and 2005-2008 the variation ratio of Business Receipts Indices 2006 2007 2007 3 quarter 9 15. 1 8. 2 15. 4 15. 7 11. 7 11. 7 9. 7 47. 7 99. 6 42. 1 27. 7 2007 4 quarter 15. 5 17. 7 7. 6 14. 8 16. 5 14. 8 10. 3 16. 2 45 82. 9 35. 4 69. 5 2008 1 quarter 9. 6 17. 5 13. 2 16 9. 9 15. 9 10. 7 11. 2 6. 32. 8 11. 7 14. 5 2008 2 quarter Wholesale/Retail Import and export trade Restaurants Hotels Transport Storage Communications Banking Financing (except banking) Insurance Real estate Business services 5. 6 6. 8 10. 6 6 22. 1 17. 8 10. 4 5. 1 10. 9 14. 3 16 16 7. 9 7. 3 10. 2 9. 5 13. 7 10. 6 10. 2 0. 8 19. 5 47. 9 21. 3 -0. 4 10. 4 12. 8 8 13. 4 15. 2 10. 8 16 10 38. 3 68. 8 28. 8 39. 8 14. 1 14. 4 14. 6 15. 3 9. 6 11 3. 5 13. 5 -6. 8 4. 7 8. 3 10 Tourism 4. 9 19. 6 13. 2 11. 8 14 11. 5 10. 3 Computer and 12. 9 14 18. 7 18. 9 25. 4 14. 14 information services Note: Data is from Hong Kong Annual Digest of Statistics (2008 Edition) edited by Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department.  ·812 · Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Innovation & Management Table 2 shows the revenue changes of the Hong Kong’s service industry from the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the subsequent 2003 epidemic of SARS, Hong Kong’s service industry was particularly hard hit. Until 2006, the industry revenue was generally restored to the level of 97. Finance, insurance, transport, trade and other business incurred the largest loss.In February 2007, the U. S. sub-loan crisis happened, and the Lehman bank filed for bankruptcy in September 2008. The U. S. financial crisis intensified and developed into a global financial crisis. From the second half of 2008, the global financial crisis began to influence Hong Kong economy. This performance is particularly evident in the service industry. Hong Kong’s financial industry has been most affected. From Table 3 it can be seen that Banking and financial services industries are in the most affected after the financial crisis. There is a rapid decline in industry revenue.In the second quarter of 2008, banking industry even has the first negative growth since the past few years. At the end of the third quarter, because a lot of major financial institutions in the United States had been threatened with a bankruptcy, the global financial crisis became even more serious. The panic selling appeared in many countries’ stock market, Hong Kong was no exception. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plummeted by 15% in September, and fall 22% in October. The normal operation of Hong Kong’s capital markets has been seriously affected.The growth of other financial related industries, such as insurance, real estate and business services, had a slowed down significantly from the beginning of the second quarter of 2008. Import and export trade and related industries sectors have been affected in different degrees. The merchandise exports slowed down in the third quarter and only had a small increase. Even so, this was the worst performance since the first quarter of 2002. With the increase of global financial crisis, exports to other markets also had different degrees of slowing down.As a result, the growth of related industries, such as business service, trade service, transportation and storage service also slowed down slightly. Exports of services had maintained a steady increase in the financial crisis, but the growth rate was also smaller than the second quarter. The growth of tourism also had signs of deceleration and affect the growth of related industry, such as transportation, hotels, catering services, the number of visitors from long distance market decrease a lot, particularly the tourists from Europe and the United States.To face the challenge of financial crisis, the SAR Government has been actively responding well to prevent the spread of financial risks. From the beginning of the sub-loan crisis in the United States, in order to ensure stability of the financial system, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority introduced a number of measures to alleviate the pressure on banks and provide necessary assistance to the banks. Securities and Futures Commission and the Insurance Supervisory Commission also had made action to strengthen the protection of investors and policyholders.At the same time, most Hong Kong’s local financial institutions’ participation in directly investment to the US sub-loan is limited in small scale. The local banking system remains steadily without be directly effected by the sub-loan crisis. Benefit from the economic development of the Mainland, Hong Kong’s service industries is also faced with new opportunities in the global financial crisis. For example, supported by the growth of trade in the Mainland, of fshore trade growth was still significant.Although 2008 is the â€Å"Olympic Year†, but the mainland tourists to Hong Kong remained a high-speed growth. In the third quarter of 2008, the Mainland tourists to Hong Kong wad still higher than last year, an increase of 9. 4%. Individual Visit Scheme is one of the bright spots; the visitors in accordance with this scheme had a further rise in the third quarter, the ratio wad 14. 5%. These factors effectively guaranteed the smooth operation of Hong Kong’s service industries. At the same time, the ten naturalization industry plan in the mainland had already been introduced.The mainland accelerated the pace of industrial upgrading and began to support the development of high-tech industry. These policies provide a good environment for the Hong Kong companies in mainland to upgrade their technological level and achieve their own industrial upgrading. Based on the above analysis, the challenges faced by Hong Kong’s econom ic in the financial crisis can be summarized into the following three aspects: (1)financial sector’s profits decline a lot, related sector’s services business reduces. 2) The trade and service market in Western countries shrink. 3 Hong Kong Company in mainland operates difficultly. Hong Kong economy is facing the opportunity for: the steady development of the Mainland economy and the acceleration of the industrial upgrading. Therefore, in order to face the challenge of the financial crisis, it is important for Hong Kong service companies to expand business in the Mainland, and to Hong Kong companies in mainland to enhance the productivity. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Innovation & Management  ·813 · 4 ConclusionsThrough the above analysis, this paper can be drawn the following conclusions: (1) The a major problem of Hong Kong economy is decline in financial sector profits and trade volume with Western developed countries. (2)The expansion of d emand of the Mainland market is the most important opportunity for Hong Kong’s economic development. (3) Hong Kong economy has great demands for information technology, electrical and electronic technologies, manufacturing technology. To ensure sustainable development of Hong Kong economy, it is very important to promote scientific and technological development. References [1] Yang Xue.The Analysis of the Scientific and Technological Needs Based on Micro-macro System[J]. Social Science Frontier, 2008, (10): 241(In Chinese) [2] Guo Kasha, Wang Wenlong. Science and Technology Needs Analysis of Chinese High-Tech Industry[J]. Economic Review, 2004, (8):198(In Chinese) [3] Wu Jiapei, Wang Changsheng. Science and Technology Needs Analysis of the New Road to Industrialization[J]. Science & Technology and Economy, 2005, (4): 4(In Chinese) [4] Li Jianhua, Cheng Baoying, Yang Xue. Analysis on Demand of Science and Technology Effected by Informatization During New Industrialization[J]. Information Science, 2004, (8): 903(In Chinese) Analysis of Hong Kong Economy During Financial Crisis  ·808 · Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Innovation & Management An Analysis of the Hong Kong Economy after the Financial Crisis Cao Hongliu School of Management, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangdong, P. R. China, 510520 (E-mail: [email  protected] com) Abstract This paper analyzes the current economic development and the status of leading industries in Hong Kong. It shows that Hong Kong economy, which is mainly comprised of the service industry in particular, facing with both opportunities and challenges after the financial crisis.Hong Kong economy has a wide range of needs in information technology, electrical and electronic technology, and manufacturing technology. Development in these areas has great significance to ensure sustained development of Hong Kong economy. Key words Hong Kong economy status; Leading industry; Service industry 1 Introduction Hong Kong’s a small and open economy system and international financial center, its economi c development face many new challenges because of the impact of the global financial crisis.Therefore, a comprehensive analysis of the Hong Kong’s economic development and their leading industry status becomes an important issue. 2 Overview of Hong Kong Economy 2. 1 The services sector is a leading industry in Hong Kong From Table 1, we can see that the services industry is a leading industry of Hong Kong economy. During the decade from 1997 to 2006, services sector in the Hong Kong economy has gained greater prominence. This change has already been reflected in the share of contribution of the services sector to the local GDP.The contribution of the services sector to GDP increased from 85. 9% in 1997 to 91. 2% in 2006. Based on the industry definition of Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, The services sector includes wholesale, retail and import and export trades, restaurants and hotels; transport, storage and communications; financing, insurance, real estate and b usiness services; and community, social and personal services. Table 1 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Economic Activity (at Current Prices) GDP by Economic Activity(2004-2007) 2004 2005 2006 2007Economic activity Agriculture and fishing Mining and quarrying Manufacturing Electricity, gas and water Construction GDP 886 72 44455 39726 40376 ratio 0. 1 * 3. 6 3. 2 3. 2 GDP 847 100 45547 39924 38538 ratio 0. 1 * 3. 4 3 2. 9 GDP 849 93 45761 40364 38688 ratio 0. 1 * 3. 2 2. 8 2. 7 GDP 895 114 39282 39426 40154 ratio 0. 1 * 2. 5 2. 5 2. 6 Services 1119304 89. 9 1207873 90. 6 1297545 91. 2 1429293 92. 3 Note: Data is from Hong Kong Annual Digest of Statistics (2004-2008 Edition) edited by Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department. Data unit is in million terms and ratio unit is %.Besides, * represents the comparison had less than 0. 05% is in the total economy The services sector becomes the principal source of employment. The employment share of the services sector in total employment h as increased moderately over the past decade, from 79. 8% in 1997 to 86. 6% in 2007. In 2007, the services sector as a whole engaged 3. 03 million persons out of the 3. 5 million overall employments. The services sector plays a significant role in supporting the growth of our external trade. In 2007, the value of exports of services reached $652 billion, representing an average annual growth rate ofProceedings of the 7th International Conference on Innovation & Management  ·809 · 8. 6% over 1997. In 2007, merchant and other trade-related services was the most important major service group, contributing 30. 9% to the value of total exports of services. It was followed by transportation services and travel services, contributing 28. 6% and 16. 5% respectively to the value of total exports of services in 2007. In 1997, the respective percentage shares of these three major service groups in the value of total exports of services were 25. 6%, 30. % and 20. 8%. 2. 2 The structure of H ong Kong’s services industry sector Among the economic activities in the services sector, wholesale, retail and import and export trades, restaurants and hotels together contributed 27. 9% of the GDP in 2006, followed by financing, insurance, real estate and business services (25. 0%), community, social and personal services (18. 0%) and transport, storage and communications (9. 6%). Among them, financial services, trading, tourism and professional services are key industries in the Hong Kong economy.They have been the driving force of Hong Kong’s economic growth, providing impetus to growth of other sectors and creating employment. (1) Import and export trade . The import and export trade is the most important industries in Hong Kong’s service industry, has been playing an important role in the development of Hong Kong economy. The import and export trade produced a net output of HK$305. 1 billion in 2006, representing an increase of 39% over 1997. The ratio is the highest among all service industry. In 2007, there were 98 000 import and export trading establishments in Hong Kong, with 520 000 persons.At the same time, import and export trade sector is also directly promoting the development of other industries, such as logistics, transportation, business services and other services. Hong Kong’s import and export trade, including the visible trade and invisible trade two parts. The visible trade refers to the traditional commodity trade. In 2007, the value of Hong Kong imported and exported goods was $5,556 billion, representing an increase of 9. 8% compared to 2006. Hong Kong’s total exports of goods (comprising domestic exports and re-exports) in 2007 amounted to $2,688 billion, or increased by 9. % when compared with 2006. The value of imports increased by 10. 3% to $2,868 billion in 2007. With the value of total exports being less than that of imports, a merchandise trade deficit of $180 billion was recorded in 2007. In the import and export trade, the largest proportion of re-exports. This was largely attributable to the relocation of many local manufacturing activities to the mainland of China. Quite a large amount of the goods produced in the mainland of China through the outward processing arrangement were sent back to Hong Kong and re-exported to other countries/territories.During 1997 to 2007, the value of re-exports increased by 107%, while a decline of 48% was observed in the value of domestic exports. In 2007 the re-export trade to the mainland continued to grow rapidly. The invisible trade services are export and import trade of commercial services and financial services. While these services could be exported or imported by the import/export firms or companies in other sectors, most of the merchant and other trade-related services were exported or imported by import/export firms . In 2007, Hong Kong’s exports and imports of services valued at $652 billion and $322 billion respecti vely.Compared to 2006, exports and imports of services increased by 15. 4% and 11. 7% respectively. Net exports of services in 2007 amounted to $330 billion, this makes Hong Kong’s overall trade surplus of $150 billion. (2) Finance. Hong Kong is recognized as an international financial center, many multinational banks and financial institutions gathered here. The financial business is classified in detail, covering all aspects of the financial industry. Hong Kong three-tier system of deposit-taking institutions, namely licensed banks, restricted licensed banks and deposit-taking companies, known collectively as the authorized institutions.At the end of 2007, the number of authorized institutions stood at 200, comprising 142 licensed banks, 29 restricted license banks and 29 deposit-taking companies. 68 of them were incorporated in Hong Kong and 132 were incorporated outside Hong Kong. In addition, there were 79 representative offices of foreign banks coming from 27 economies/ regions. As at end December 2007, 152 of the largest 500 banks in the world had a presence in Hong Kong. The value added generated by the banking industry amounted to $136. 5 billion, or 9. 6% of Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2006, representing an increase of 41. % compared with 1997. The development of the banking sector also promotes the development of other financial industries. In 2007, some 2 940 establishments and about 32 400 persons were engaged in the business. These included stock and share companies; commodity futures, gold bullion and foreign exchange brokers/dealers; stock, bullion and commodity exchanges; fund management companies; investment advisory companies; and firms providing other various financial services. The financial markets and asset management industry generated value added of about $59. billion, contributing to 4. 1% of Hong Kong’s GDP in 2006.  ·810 · Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Innovation & Managem ent Hong Kong is also the Securities and Exchange Center and an important place for the mainland enterprises to raise funds. At the end of 2007, 1 048 companies were listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx), with a total market capitalization of $20,536 billion. Despite an increase of only 7. 5% in the number of listed companies, market capitalization was observed to rise 55. 0% over 2006.Since July 1993 when the first Chinese state owned company was listed on the HKEx through issuance of H shares, the role of Hong Kong as a major fund-raising centre for the mainland of China had become increasingly important. By the end of 2007, there were 146 H shares listed on the HKEx, with market capitalization of $5,080 billion. In addition, there were also 93 â€Å"Red Chips† companies and 200 private enterprises listed on HKEx. Hong Kong is one of the most active and liberal debt markets and a leading asset management centre in Asia. (3) Tourism . In 2007, 51 900 persons were engaged in industries closely related o tourism, such as hotels and travel agents and 315 300 persons in industries partly related to tourism such as restaurants, retailers, transport operators and other service providers serving visitors. In terms of economic contribution, inbound tourism and outbound tourism together generated $45. 3 billion value added and 176 300 job opportunities in 2006, or 3. 2% of total GDP and 5. 2% of total employment of Hong Kong respectively. The number of incoming visitors in 2007 reached 28. 2 million, increased by 11. 6% as compared with 25. 3 million in 2006 and set the highest record for visitor arrivals in history.The mainland of China remained the major source market of visitors to Hong Kong since 1994. Visitor arrivals from the mainland of China reached 15. 5 million in 2007, accounted for 55. 0% of the total visitor arrivals, followed by South and Southeast Asia (10. 3%) and Taiwan (7. 9%). In addition, Hong Kong i s Asia’s major trade exhibition and business conference center. A total of 218 conventions and 78 exhibitions with international participation were held in Hong Kong in 2006. (4) Professional service . The professional service is Hong Kong’s fourth-largest service industry.The professional services industry generated $40 billion of value added, or 2. 8% of Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in 2006 and provided job opportunities for about 106 000 persons in 2007. In 2007, there were about 13 500 professional services establishments, including 3 900 accounting, auditing and bookkeeping firms, 1 800 solicitor and barrister firms, 3 300 architectural, surveying and engineering firms and some 4 500 management consultant firms. The business receipts of professional services industry increased by 10. 7% in 2007 over a year earlier.The development of professional services industry over the past decade was quite remarkable. Number of establishments and persons en gaged increased by 35% and 23% respectively between 1997 and 2007. During the same period, the total number of registered professionals also increased remarkably, with certified public accountants increasing at the fastest rate of 7. 3% per year on average. 2. 3 Manufacturing company is the support for the Hong Kong service industry In this paper, the Hong Kong Manufacturing Company refers specifically to the Hong Kong manufacturing companies in the mainland.The rapid expansion of Hong Kong’s service industries in the past two decades benefited from the development of the Hong Kong Manufacturing Company and the sub-contracting business model. In the late 80’s, under the pressure of high land prices, high rents, high labor costs, a large number of Hong Kong manufacturers shifted their production to the Mainland, where the land and labor costs were relatively low, in particular the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong Province. And because of the changes in the business, many original manufacturing companies become the service company.These companies transferred their manufacturing factories to the Mainland, and kept the headquarters and other high value-added services such as marketing, order processing, material procurement, design, packaging, logistics business in Hong Kong. This business model is known as â€Å"shop in front and factory in back† mode. At the same time, in order to adapt to the changes in international markets and increase exports, many traditional trading companies, set up manufacturing factories in mainland, and formed a sub-contracting operation mode.In the sub-contractors mode, products manufactured in the mainland branch companies, headquarters in Hong Kong focused its efforts on trade, market and management. This mode of operation combined the mainland companies’ low-cost production advantage and the Hong Kong trading companies’ familiar with the international market advantage together, promoted the expediti ons of business of Hong Kong trade companies and improved their production efficiency. This production mode provided a strong support to the development of Hong Kong’s service industry.The financial crisis press great operating pressure to the Hong Kong Manufacturing Company. Mostly concentrated in the Pearl River Delta region, the types of these companies are sound equipment, electrical appliances, toys, clothing, footwear and other labor-intensive industries. The development of these enterprises is based on low labor and land inputs, production technology is very low. With the Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Innovation & Management  ·811 · labor, land costs rising substantially in the Pearl River Delta region, the ompetitive advantages of the Hong Kong Manufacturing Company decreased a lot in recent years. Under the impact of the financial crisis, there has an obvious drop in experts of these labor-intensive consumer goods. Many Hong Kong Manufacturin g Companies face the problem of orders reduction, profit decline, and even bankruptcy. 3 Hong Kong’s Economic Problems under the Global Financial Crisis Table 2 1997-2007 Business Receipts Indices 1997 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Wholesale/Retail Import and export trade Restaurants Hotels Transport Storage Communications Banking Financing (except banking) Insurance 24. 4 107. 2 104. 7 99 61. 7 157. 1 127. 1 84. 1 79. 8 38. 2 88. 3 75. 5 94. 9 73. 1 68. 8 81. 1 96. 6 86. 4 56 59. 2 85. 8 80. 4 85. 7 58. 8 69. 1 77. 4 94. 3 86. 4 65. 7 70. 5 93. 8 90. 5 94. 3 81. 9 85 90. 6 95. 1 90. 2 87. 5 86. 2 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 107. 4 110. 2 109. 5 113. 7 110. 6 110. 2 100. 8 119. 5 147. 9 121. 3 99. 6 119. 6 114 109. 7 120. 6 119. 1 124. 2 131. 1 122. 6 127. 8 110. 8 165. 3 249. 7 156. 2 139. 3 135. 4 135. 4 117. 1 Real estate 135. 6 71. 5 75. 9 86. 2 Business 119. 7 87. 88. 1 95. 3 services Tourism 91. 5 75. 5 70 88. 5 Computer and 53. 1 63. 7 67. 3 81. 1 information services Note: Data is from Hong Kong Annual Digest of Statistics(2008 Edition) Statistics Department. Table 3 2005 edited by Hong Kong Census and 2005-2008 the variation ratio of Business Receipts Indices 2006 2007 2007 3 quarter 9 15. 1 8. 2 15. 4 15. 7 11. 7 11. 7 9. 7 47. 7 99. 6 42. 1 27. 7 2007 4 quarter 15. 5 17. 7 7. 6 14. 8 16. 5 14. 8 10. 3 16. 2 45 82. 9 35. 4 69. 5 2008 1 quarter 9. 6 17. 5 13. 2 16 9. 9 15. 9 10. 7 11. 2 6. 32. 8 11. 7 14. 5 2008 2 quarter Wholesale/Retail Import and export trade Restaurants Hotels Transport Storage Communications Banking Financing (except banking) Insurance Real estate Business services 5. 6 6. 8 10. 6 6 22. 1 17. 8 10. 4 5. 1 10. 9 14. 3 16 16 7. 9 7. 3 10. 2 9. 5 13. 7 10. 6 10. 2 0. 8 19. 5 47. 9 21. 3 -0. 4 10. 4 12. 8 8 13. 4 15. 2 10. 8 16 10 38. 3 68. 8 28. 8 39. 8 14. 1 14. 4 14. 6 15. 3 9. 6 11 3. 5 13. 5 -6. 8 4. 7 8. 3 10 Tourism 4. 9 19. 6 13. 2 11. 8 14 11. 5 10. 3 Computer and 12. 9 14 18. 7 18. 9 25. 4 14. 14 information services Note: Data is from Hong Kong Annual Digest of Statistics (2008 Edition) edited by Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department.  ·812 · Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Innovation & Management Table 2 shows the revenue changes of the Hong Kong’s service industry from the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the subsequent 2003 epidemic of SARS, Hong Kong’s service industry was particularly hard hit. Until 2006, the industry revenue was generally restored to the level of 97. Finance, insurance, transport, trade and other business incurred the largest loss.In February 2007, the U. S. sub-loan crisis happened, and the Lehman bank filed for bankruptcy in September 2008. The U. S. financial crisis intensified and developed into a global financial crisis. From the second half of 2008, the global financial crisis began to influence Hong Kong economy. This performance is particularly evident in the service industry. Hong Kong’s financial industry has been most affected. From Table 3 it can be seen that Banking and financial services industries are in the most affected after the financial crisis. There is a rapid decline in industry revenue.In the second quarter of 2008, banking industry even has the first negative growth since the past few years. At the end of the third quarter, because a lot of major financial institutions in the United States had been threatened with a bankruptcy, the global financial crisis became even more serious. The panic selling appeared in many countries’ stock market, Hong Kong was no exception. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plummeted by 15% in September, and fall 22% in October. The normal operation of Hong Kong’s capital markets has been seriously affected.The growth of other financial related industries, such as insurance, real estate and business services, had a slowed down significantly from the beginning of the second quarter of 2008. Import and export trade and related industries sectors have been affected in different degrees. The merchandise exports slowed down in the third quarter and only had a small increase. Even so, this was the worst performance since the first quarter of 2002. With the increase of global financial crisis, exports to other markets also had different degrees of slowing down.As a result, the growth of related industries, such as business service, trade service, transportation and storage service also slowed down slightly. Exports of services had maintained a steady increase in the financial crisis, but the growth rate was also smaller than the second quarter. The growth of tourism also had signs of deceleration and affect the growth of related industry, such as transportation, hotels, catering services, the number of visitors from long distance market decrease a lot, particularly the tourists from Europe and the United States.To face the challenge of financial crisis, the SAR Government has been actively responding well to prevent the spread of financial risks. From the beginning of the sub-loan crisis in the United States, in order to ensure stability of the financial system, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority introduced a number of measures to alleviate the pressure on banks and provide necessary assistance to the banks. Securities and Futures Commission and the Insurance Supervisory Commission also had made action to strengthen the protection of investors and policyholders.At the same time, most Hong Kong’s local financial institutions’ participation in directly investment to the US sub-loan is limited in small scale. The local banking system remains steadily without be directly effected by the sub-loan crisis. Benefit from the economic development of the Mainland, Hong Kong’s service industries is also faced with new opportunities in the global financial crisis. For example, supported by the growth of trade in the Mainland, of fshore trade growth was still significant.Although 2008 is the â€Å"Olympic Year†, but the mainland tourists to Hong Kong remained a high-speed growth. In the third quarter of 2008, the Mainland tourists to Hong Kong wad still higher than last year, an increase of 9. 4%. Individual Visit Scheme is one of the bright spots; the visitors in accordance with this scheme had a further rise in the third quarter, the ratio wad 14. 5%. These factors effectively guaranteed the smooth operation of Hong Kong’s service industries. At the same time, the ten naturalization industry plan in the mainland had already been introduced.The mainland accelerated the pace of industrial upgrading and began to support the development of high-tech industry. These policies provide a good environment for the Hong Kong companies in mainland to upgrade their technological level and achieve their own industrial upgrading. Based on the above analysis, the challenges faced by Hong Kong’s econom ic in the financial crisis can be summarized into the following three aspects: (1)financial sector’s profits decline a lot, related sector’s services business reduces. 2) The trade and service market in Western countries shrink. 3 Hong Kong Company in mainland operates difficultly. Hong Kong economy is facing the opportunity for: the steady development of the Mainland economy and the acceleration of the industrial upgrading. Therefore, in order to face the challenge of the financial crisis, it is important for Hong Kong service companies to expand business in the Mainland, and to Hong Kong companies in mainland to enhance the productivity. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Innovation & Management  ·813 · 4 ConclusionsThrough the above analysis, this paper can be drawn the following conclusions: (1) The a major problem of Hong Kong economy is decline in financial sector profits and trade volume with Western developed countries. (2)The expansion of d emand of the Mainland market is the most important opportunity for Hong Kong’s economic development. (3) Hong Kong economy has great demands for information technology, electrical and electronic technologies, manufacturing technology. To ensure sustainable development of Hong Kong economy, it is very important to promote scientific and technological development. References [1] Yang Xue.The Analysis of the Scientific and Technological Needs Based on Micro-macro System[J]. Social Science Frontier, 2008, (10): 241(In Chinese) [2] Guo Kasha, Wang Wenlong. Science and Technology Needs Analysis of Chinese High-Tech Industry[J]. Economic Review, 2004, (8):198(In Chinese) [3] Wu Jiapei, Wang Changsheng. Science and Technology Needs Analysis of the New Road to Industrialization[J]. Science & Technology and Economy, 2005, (4): 4(In Chinese) [4] Li Jianhua, Cheng Baoying, Yang Xue. Analysis on Demand of Science and Technology Effected by Informatization During New Industrialization[J]. Information Science, 2004, (8): 903(In Chinese)