title: Stone Age

text: The end of Oldowan in Africa was brought on by the appearance of Acheulean, or Mode 2, stone tools. The earliest known instances are in the 1.7–1.6 mya layer at Kokiselei, West Turkana, Kenya. At Sterkfontein, South Africa, they are in Member 5 West, 1.7–1.4 mya. The 1.7 is a fairly certain, fairly standard date. Mode 2 is often found in association with "H. erectus". It makes sense that the most advanced tools should have been innovated by the most advanced Hominan; consequently, they are typically given credit for the innovation.


title: Stone Age

text: A Mode 2 tool is a biface consisting of two concave surfaces intersecting to form a cutting edge all the way around, except in the case of tools intended to feature a point. More work and planning go into the manufacture of a Mode 2 tool. The manufacturer hits a slab off a larger rock to use as a blank. Then large flakes are struck off the blank and worked into bifaces by hard-hammer percussion on an anvil stone. Finally the edge is retouched: small flakes are hit off with a bone or wood soft hammer to sharpen or resharpen it. The core can be either the blank or another flake. Blanks are ported for manufacturing supply in places where nature has provided no suitable stone.


title: Stone Age

text: Although most Mode 2 tools are easily distinguished from Mode 1, there is a close similarity of some Oldowan and some Acheulean, which can lead to confusion. Some Oldowan tools are more carefully prepared to form a more regular edge. One distinguishing criterion is the size of the flakes. In contrast to the Oldowan "small flake" tradition, Acheulean is "large flake:" "The primary technological distinction remaining between Oldowan and the Acheulean is the preference for large flakes (>10 cm) as blanks for making large cutting tools (handaxes and cleavers) in the Acheulean." "Large Cutting Tool (LCT)" has become part of the standard terminology as well.


title: Stone Age

text: In North Africa, the presence of Mode 2 remains a mystery, as the oldest finds are from Thomas Quarry in Morocco at 0.9 mya. Archaeological attention, however, shifts to the Jordan Rift Valley, an extension of the East African Rift Valley (the east bank of the Jordan is slowly sliding northward as East Africa is thrust away from Africa). Evidence of use of the Nile Valley is in deficit, but Hominans could easily have reached the palaeo-Jordan river from Ethiopia along the shores of the Red Sea, one side or the other. A crossing would not have been necessary, but it is more likely there than over a theoretical but unproven land bridge through either Gibraltar or Sicily.


title: Stone Age

text: Meanwhile, Acheulean went on in Africa past the 1.0 mya mark and also past the extinction of "H. erectus" there. The last Acheulean in East Africa is at Olorgesailie, Kenya, dated to about 0.9 mya. Its owner was still "H. erectus", but in South Africa, Acheulean at Elandsfontein, 1.0–0.6 mya, is associated with Saldanha man, classified as "H. heidelbergensis", a more advanced, but not yet modern, descendant most likely of "H. erectus". The Thoman Quarry Hominans in Morocco similarly are most likely Homo rhodesiensis, in the same evolutionary status as "H. heidelbergensis".


title: Stone Age

text: Mode 2 is first known out of Africa at 'Ubeidiya, Israel, a site now on the Jordan River, then frequented over the long term (hundreds of thousands of years) by Homo on the shore of a variable-level palaeo-lake, long since vanished. The geology was created by successive "transgression and regression" of the lake resulting in four cycles of layers. The tools are located in the first two, Cycles Li (Limnic Inferior) and Fi (Fluviatile Inferior), but mostly in Fi. The cycles represent different ecologies and therefore different cross-sections of fauna, which makes it possible to date them. They appear to be the same faunal assemblages as the Ferenta Faunal Unit in Italy, known from excavations at Selvella and Pieterfitta, dated to 1.6–1.2 mya.


title: Stone Age

text: At 'Ubeidiya the marks on the bones of the animal species found there indicate that the manufacturers of the tools butchered the kills of large predators, an activity that has been termed "scavenging". There are no living floors, nor did they process bones to obtain the marrow. These activities cannot be understood therefore as the only or even the typical economic activity of Hominans. Their interests were selective: they were primarily harvesting the meat of Cervids, which is estimated to have been available without spoiling for up to four days after the kill.


title: Stone Age

text: The majority of the animals at the site were of "Palaearctic biogeographic origin". However, these overlapped in range on 30–60% of "African biogeographic origin". The biome was Mediterranean, not savanna. The animals were not passing through; there was simply an overlap of normal ranges. Of the Hominans, "H. erectus" left several cranial fragments. Teeth of undetermined species may have been "H. ergaster". The tools are classified as "Lower Acheulean" and "Developed Oldowan". The latter is a disputed classification created by Mary Leakey to describe an Acheulean-like tradition in Bed II at Olduvai. It is dated 1.53–1.27 mya. The date of the tools therefore probably does not exceed 1.5 mya; 1.4 is often given as a date. This chronology, which is definitely later than in Kenya, supports the "out of Africa" hypothesis for Acheulean, if not for the Hominans.


title: Stone Age

text: From Southwest Asia, as the Levant is now called, the Acheulean extended itself more slowly eastward, arriving at Isampur, India, about 1.2 mya. It does not appear in China and Korea until after 1mya and not at all in Indonesia. There is a discernible boundary marking the furthest extent of the Acheulean eastward before 1 mya, called the Movius Line, after its proposer, Hallam L. Movius. On the east side of the line the small flake tradition continues, but the tools are additionally worked Mode 1, with flaking down the sides. In Athirampakkam at Chennai in Tamil Nadu the Acheulean age started at 1.51 mya and it is also prior than North India and Europe.


title: Stone Age

text: The cause of the Movius Line remains speculative, whether it represents a real change in technology or a limitation of archeology, but after 1 mya evidence not available to Movius indicates the prevalence of Acheulean. For example, the Acheulean site at Bose, China, is dated 0.803±3K mya. The authors of this chronologically later East Asian Acheulean remain unknown, as does whether it evolved in the region or was brought in.


title: Stone Age

text: There is no named boundary line between Mode 1 and Mode 2 on the west; nevertheless, Mode 2 is equally late in Europe as it is in the Far East. The earliest comes from a rock shelter at Estrecho de Quípar in Spain, dated to greater than 0.9 mya. Teeth from an undetermined Hominan were found there also. The last Mode 2 in Southern Europe is from a deposit at Fontana Ranuccio near Anagni in Italy dated to 0.45 mya, which is generally linked to "Homo cepranensis", a "late variant of "H. erectus"", a fragment of whose skull was found at Ceprano nearby, dated 0.46 mya.


title: Stone Age

text: This period is best known as the era during which the Neanderthals lived in Europe and the Near East (c. 300,000–28,000 years ago). Their technology is mainly the Mousterian, but Neanderthal physical characteristics have been found also in ambiguous association with the more recent Châtelperronian archeological culture in Western Europe and several local industries like the Szeletian in Eastern Europe/Eurasia. There is no evidence for Neanderthals in Africa, Australia or the Americas.


title: Stone Age

text: Neanderthals nursed their elderly and practised ritual burial indicating an organised society. The earliest evidence (Mungo Man) of settlement in Australia dates to around 40,000 years ago when modern humans likely crossed from Asia by island-hopping. Evidence for symbolic behavior such as body ornamentation and burial is ambiguous for the Middle Paleolithic and still subject to debate. The Bhimbetka rock shelters exhibit the earliest traces of human life in India, some of which are approximately 30,000 years old.


title: Stone Age

text: From 50,000 to 10,000 years ago in Europe, the Upper Paleolithic ends with the end of the Pleistocene and onset of the Holocene era (the end of the last ice age). Modern humans spread out further across the Earth during the period known as the Upper Paleolithic.


title: Stone Age

text: The Upper Paleolithic is marked by a relatively rapid succession of often complex stone artifact technologies and a large increase in the creation of art and personal ornaments. During period between 35 and 10 kya evolved: from 38 to 30 kya Châtelperronian, 40–28 Aurignacian, 28–22 Gravettian, 22–17 Solutrean, and 18–10 Magdalenian. All of these industries except the Châtelperronian are associated with anatomically modern humans. Authorship of the Châtelperronian is still the subject of much debate.


title: Stone Age

text: Most scholars date the arrival of humans in Australia at 40,000 to 50,000 years ago, with a possible range of up to 125,000 years ago. The earliest anatomically modern human remains found in Australia (and outside of Africa) are those of Mungo Man; they have been dated at 42,000 years old.


title: Stone Age

text: The Americas were colonised via the Bering land bridge which was exposed during this period by lower sea levels. These people are called the Paleo-Indians, and the earliest accepted dates are those of the Clovis culture sites, some 13,500 years ago. Globally, societies were hunter-gatherers but evidence of regional identities begins to appear in the wide variety of stone tool types being developed to suit very different environments.


title: Stone Age

text: The period starting from the end of the last ice age, 10,000 years ago, to around 6,000 years ago was characterized by rising sea levels and a need to adapt to a changing environment and find new food sources. The development of Mode 5 (microlith) tools began in response to these changes. They were derived from the previous Paleolithic tools, hence the term Epipaleolithic, or were intermediate between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic, hence the term Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), used for parts of Eurasia, but not outside it. The choice of a word depends on exact circumstances and the inclination of the archaeologists excavating the site. Microliths were used in the manufacture of more efficient composite tools, resulting in an intensification of hunting and fishing and with increasing social activity the development of more complex settlements, such as Lepenski Vir. Domestication of the dog as a hunting companion probably dates to this period.


title: Stone Age

text: The earliest known battle occurred during the Mesolithic period at a site in Egypt known as Cemetery 117.


title: Stone Age

text: The Neolithic, or New Stone Age, was approximately characterized by the adoption of agriculture. The shift from food gathering to food producing, in itself one of the most revolutionary changes in human history, was accompanied by the so-called Neolithic Revolution: the development of pottery, polished stone tools, and construction of more complex, larger settlements such as Göbekli Tepe and Çatalhöyük. Some of these features began in certain localities even earlier, in the transitional Mesolithic. The first Neolithic cultures started around 7000 BC in the fertile crescent and spread concentrically to other areas of the world; however, the Near East was probably not the only nucleus of agriculture, the cultivation of maize in Meso-America and of rice in the Far East being others.


title: Stone Age

text: Due to the increased need to harvest and process plants, ground stone and polished stone artifacts became much more widespread, including tools for grinding, cutting, and chopping. Skara Brae located in Orkney off Scotland is one of Europe's best examples of a Neolithic village. The community contains stone beds, shelves and even an indoor toilet linked to a stream. The first large-scale constructions were built, including settlement towers and walls, e.g., Jericho (Tell es-Sultan) and ceremonial sites, e.g.: Stonehenge. The Ġgantija temples of Gozo in the Maltese archipelago are the oldest surviving free standing structures in the world, erected c. 3600–2500 BC. The earliest evidence for established trade exists in the Neolithic with newly settled people importing exotic goods over distances of many hundreds of miles.


title: Stone Age

text: These facts show that there were sufficient resources and co-operation to enable large groups to work on these projects. To what extent this was a basis for the development of elites and social hierarchies is a matter of ongoing debate. Although some late Neolithic societies formed complex stratified chiefdoms similar to Polynesian societies such as the Ancient Hawaiians, based on the societies of modern tribesmen at an equivalent technological level, most Neolithic societies were relatively simple and egalitarian. A comparison of art in the two ages leads some theorists to conclude that Neolithic cultures were noticeably more hierarchical than the Paleolithic cultures that preceded them.


title: Stone Age

text: The Early Stone Age in Africa is not to be identified with "Old Stone Age", a translation of Paleolithic, or with Paleolithic, or with the "Earlier Stone Age" that originally meant what became the Paleolithic and Mesolithic. In the initial decades of its definition by the Pan-African Congress of Prehistory, it was parallel in Africa to the Upper and Middle Paleolithic. However, since then Radiocarbon dating has shown that the Middle Stone Age is in fact contemporaneous with the Middle Paleolithic. The Early Stone Age therefore is contemporaneous with the Lower Paleolithic and happens to include the same main technologies, Oldowan and Acheulean, which produced Mode 1 and Mode 2 stone tools respectively. A distinct regional term is warranted, however, by the location and chronology of the sites and the exact typology.


title: Stone Age

text: The Middle Stone Age was a period of African prehistory between Early Stone Age and Late Stone Age. It began around 300,000 years ago and ended around 50,000 years ago. It is considered as an equivalent of European Middle Paleolithic. It is associated with anatomically modern or almost modern "Homo sapiens". Early physical evidence comes from Omo and Herto, both in Ethiopia and dated respectively at c. 195 ka and at c. 160 ka.


title: Stone Age

text: The Later Stone Age (LSA, sometimes also called the Late Stone Age) refers to a period in African prehistory. Its beginnings are roughly contemporaneous with the European Upper Paleolithic. It lasts until historical times and this includes cultures corresponding to Mesolithic and Neolithic in other regions.


title: Stone Age

text: Stone tools were made from a variety of stones. For example, flint and chert were shaped (or "chipped") for use as cutting tools and weapons, while basalt and sandstone were used for ground stone tools, such as quern-stones. Wood, bone, shell, antler (deer) and other materials were widely used, as well. During the most recent part of the period, sediments (such as clay) were used to make pottery. Agriculture was developed and certain animals were domesticated as well.


title: Stone Age

text: Some species of non-primates are able to use stone tools, such as the sea otter, which breaks abalone shells with them. Primates can both use and manufacture stone tools. This combination of abilities is more marked in apes and men, but only men, or more generally Hominans, depend on tool use for survival. The key anatomical and behavioral features required for tool manufacture, which are possessed only by Hominans, are the larger thumb and the ability to hold by means of an assortment of grips.


title: Stone Age

text: Food sources of the Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers were wild plants and animals harvested from the environment. They liked animal organ meats, including the livers, kidneys and brains. Large seeded legumes were part of the human diet long before the agricultural revolution, as is evident from archaeobotanical finds from the Mousterian layers of Kebara Cave, in Israel.<ref name="doi10.1016/j.jas.2004.11.006"></ref> Moreover, recent evidence indicates that humans processed and consumed wild cereal grains as far back as 23,000 years ago in the Upper Paleolithic.


title: Stone Age

text: Near the end of the Wisconsin glaciation, 15,000 to 9,000 years ago, mass extinction of Megafauna such as the woolly mammoth occurred in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. This was the first Holocene extinction event. It possibly forced modification in the dietary habits of the humans of that age and with the emergence of agricultural practices, plant-based foods also became a regular part of the diet. A number of factors have been suggested for the extinction: certainly over-hunting, but also deforestation and climate change. The net effect was to fragment the vast ranges required by the large animals and extinguish them piecemeal in each fragment.


title: Stone Age

text: Around 2 million years ago, "Homo habilis" is believed to have constructed the first man-made structure in East Africa, consisting of simple arrangements of stones to hold branches of trees in position. A similar stone circular arrangement believed to be around 380,000 years old was discovered at Terra Amata, near Nice, France. (Concerns about the dating have been raised, see Terra Amata). Several human habitats dating back to the Stone Age have been discovered around the globe, including:


title: Stone Age

text: Prehistoric art is visible in the artifacts. Prehistoric music is inferred from found instruments, while parietal art can be found on rocks of any kind. The latter are petroglyphs and rock paintings. The art may or may not have had a religious function.


title: Stone Age

text: Petroglyphs appeared in the Neolithic. A Petroglyph is an intaglio abstract or symbolic image engraved on natural stone by various methods, usually by prehistoric peoples. They were a dominant form of pre-writing symbols. Petroglyphs have been discovered in different parts of the world, including Australia (Sydney rock engravings), Asia (Bhimbetka, India), North America (Death Valley National Park), South America (Cumbe Mayo, Peru), and Europe (Finnmark, Norway).


title: Stone Age

text: In paleolithic times, mostly animals were painted, in theory ones that were used as food or represented strength, such as the rhinoceros or large cats (as in the Chauvet Cave). Signs such as dots were sometimes drawn. Rare human representations include handprints and half-human/half-animal figures. The Cave of Chauvet in the Ardèche "département", France, contains the most important cave paintings of the paleolithic era, dating from about 36,000 BC. The Altamira cave paintings in Spain were done 14,000 to 12,000 BC and show, among others, bisons. The hall of bulls in Lascaux, Dordogne, France, dates from about 15,000 to 10,000 BC.


title: Stone Age

text: The meaning of many of these paintings remains unknown. They may have been used for seasonal rituals. The animals are accompanied by signs that suggest a possible magic use. Arrow-like symbols in Lascaux are sometimes interpreted as calendar or almanac use, but the evidence remains interpretative.


title: Stone Age

text: Some scenes of the Mesolithic, however, can be typed and therefore, judging from their various modifications, are fairly clear. One of these is the battle scene between organized bands of archers. For example, "the marching Warriors", a rock painting at Cingle de la Mola, Castellón in Spain, dated to about 7,000–4,000 BC, depicts about 50 bowmen in two groups marching or running in step toward each other, each man carrying a bow in one hand and a fistful of arrows in the other. A file of five men leads one band, one of whom is a figure with a "high crowned hat".


title: Stone Age

text: In other scenes elsewhere, the men wear head-dresses and knee ornaments but otherwise fight nude. Some scenes depict the dead and wounded, bristling with arrows. One is reminded of Ötzi the Iceman, a Copper Age mummy revealed by an Alpine melting glacier, who collapsed from loss of blood due to an arrow wound in the back.


title: Stone Age

text: Modern studies and the in-depth analysis of finds dating from the Stone Age indicate certain rituals and beliefs of the people in those prehistoric times. It is now believed that activities of the Stone Age humans went beyond the immediate requirements of procuring food, body coverings, and shelters. Specific rites relating to death and burial were practiced, though certainly differing in style and execution between cultures.


title: Stone Age

text: The image of the caveman is commonly associated with the Stone Age. For example, a 2003 documentary series showing the evolution of humans through the Stone Age was called "Walking with Cavemen", but only the last programme showed humans living in caves. While the idea that human beings and dinosaurs coexisted is sometimes portrayed in popular culture in cartoons, films and computer games, such as "The Flintstones", "One Million Years B.C." and "Chuck Rock", the notion of hominids and non-avian dinosaurs co-existing is not supported by any scientific evidence.


title: Stone Age

text: Other depictions of the Stone Age include the best-selling "Earth's Children" series of books by Jean M. Auel, which are set in the Paleolithic and are loosely based on archaeological and anthropological findings.


title: Stone Age

text: The 1981 film "Quest for Fire" by Jean-Jacques Annaud tells the story of a group of early homo sapiens searching for their lost fire. A 21st-century series, "Chronicles of Ancient Darkness" by Michelle Paver tells of two New Stone Age children fighting to fulfil a prophecy and save their clan.


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon (pronunciation: ]), officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ]), is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the national capital New Delhi and south of Chandigarh, the state capital. It is one of the major satellite cities of Delhi and is part of the National Capital Region of India. , Gurgaon had a population of 1,153,000.


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon is India's second largest information technology hub and third largest financial and banking hub. Gurgaon is also home to India's largest medical tourism industry. Despite being India's 56th largest city in terms of population, Gurgaon is the 8th largest city in the country in terms of total wealth. Gurgaon serves as the headquarters of many of India's largest companies, is home to thousands of startup companies and has local offices for more than 250 Fortune 500 companies. It accounts for almost 70% of the total annual economic investments in Haryana state, which has helped it become a leading hub for high-tech industry in northern India. Gurgaon is categorised as very high on the Human Development Index, with an HDI of 0.889 (2017).


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon's economic growth started in the 1970s when Maruti Suzuki India Limited established a manufacturing plant and gathered pace after General Electric established its business outsourcing operations in the city in collaboration with real-estate firm DLF. New Gurgaon, Manesar and Sohna serve as adjoining manufacturing and upcoming real estate hubs for Gurgaon. Despite rapid economic and population growth, Gurgaon continues to battle socio-economic issues, such as high-income inequality and high air pollution. It also has a flood problem due to the limited drainage capacity.


title: Gurgaon

text: The region of Gurgaon originally fell under the Kuru Kingdom. Early people to inhabit the region were Hindus ruled over by the Ahir clan. Yadu tribes were a part of this clan and today their descendants commonly hold the last name "Yadav". In late 4th century BCE, the city was absorbed by the Maurya Empire as part of Chandragupta Maurya's earliest expansions of his kingdom.


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon may be same as the Gudapura town mentioned in the 12th century text "Prithviraja Vijaya". According to the text, Nagarjuna, a cousin of the Chahamana king Prithviraj Chauhan, rebelled against the king and captured the town. Prithviraj crushed the rebellion and recaptured the town.


title: Gurgaon

text: During the Mughal and initially during the British colonial era, Gurgaon was just a small village in Jharsa paragana of Delhi subah. Report of a Tour in Eastern Rajputana in 1882–83 (published in 1885) by Alexander Cunningham, the then Director-General of Archaeological Survey of India, he mentions a stone pillar at Gurgaon of a local feudal lord ""Durgga Naga"" with a 3-line inscription ""Samvat 729 or 928, Vaisakh badi 4, Durgga Naga lokatari bhuta"" dating back to 672 AD or 871 AD. Jharsa paragana passed to Begum Samru in 1776–77 and came under direct British rule in 1836 after her death when her territory was taken over by the British who established a civil lines at Jharsa and a cavalry cantonment at nearby Hiyadatpur. A 1882 land revenue settlement report records that the idol of Sitla Mata was brought to Gurgaon 400 years earlier (15th century). Begum Samru claimed the offering to Sitla Mata temple during the Chaitra month and the revenue from the offerings given to the deity for rest of the month was distributed among the prominent Jat zamindars of the area. In 1818, Bharawas district was disbanded and Gurgaon was made a new district. In 1821, the Bharaswas cantonment was also moved to Hidayatpur in Gurgaon. ""Aliwardi mosque"" in Gurgaon, ""Badshahpur baoli"" (1905). and ""Bhondsi"" (16th to 17th century) were built during mughal and British era. The ""Church of the Epiphany"" and ""Kaman Serai"" (Corrupted form of the "Command Serai" or "Officer's Mess"") was built by the Britishers in 1925 inside the civil lines.


title: Gurgaon

text: Other British colonial era historic buildings The Gurgaon Club, a 3-room building surrounded by the lawn and currently run by the Zila Parishad, the erstwhile Coronation School—now renamed to the Government Boys’ Senior Secondary School, one of the 13 school established in India in 1911 to commemorate the coronation of King George V. During 1980s, the airstrip and hangar, air conditioned yoga ashram and TV studio were built on outskirts of the city by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's yoga mentor Dhirendra Brahmachari. The former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar established his own ashram near this airstrip in 1983 on 600 acre of panchayat land, where another godman Chandraswami and notorious Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi used to visit him.


title: Gurgaon

text: On 12 April 2016, Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar announced a proposal to officially rename the city "Gurugram" (Sanskrit: गुरुग्राम, lit. "village of the Guru"), subject to the approval of the Haryana cabinet and the Union Government. He argued that the new name would help to preserve the "rich heritage" of the city by emphasising its history and mythological association with Drona. On 27 September 2016, he officially announced that the Union Government had approved the name change, and thus the city and district would henceforth be known as Gurugram, though the old name "Gurgaon" still lingers in the colloquial usage.


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon is located in Gurgaon district in the Indian state of Haryana and is situated in the southeastern part of the state, and northern part of the country. The city is located on the border with Delhi with New Delhi to its northeast. The city has a total area of .


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon lies on the Sahibi River, a tributary of Yamuna which originates from the Aravalli range in Rajasthan and flows through west and South Haryana into Delhi where it is also known as the Najafgarh drain. The paleochannel and the current course of the Sahibi river have series of biodiversity hotspots and Important Bird Area (IBA) wetlands and forests within Gurugam, including the Outfall Drain Number 6 (canalised portion in Haryana of Sahibi river), Outfall Drain Number 8 (canalised portion in Haryana of Dohan river which is a tributary of Sahibi river), Sarbashirpur wetland, Sultanpur National Park, Basai wetland, Najafgarh lake and Najafgarh drain bird sanctuary, Ghata lake, Badshahpur lake, Khandsa lake and The Lost lake of Gurgaon. Other IBA wetlands along the Saibi river, outside Gurgaon district, are the Masani barrage wetland, Matanhail forest, Chhuchhakwas-Godhari, Khaparwas Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary, etc. All of these are home to endangered and migratory birds. Most of these largely remain unprotected. These are under extreme threat mainly from the colonisers and builders.


title: Gurgaon

text: Mangar Bani, a sacred grove and forest with wetlands between Gurgaon and Faridabad, is one of the last surviving natural forest in NCR is protected by Gurjars of nearby area. contiguous to Mangar bani are Gwal Pahari and Bandhwari forested area. All of these lie on the Southern Delhi Ridge of Aravalli range.


title: Gurgaon

text: Under the Köppen climate classification, Gurgaon experiences a hot semi-arid climate (BSh). The city experiences four distinct seasons – spring (February–March), summer (April–August), autumn (October–November) and winter (December–January) – along with the monsoon season (June–September) setting in towards the latter half of the summer. Summers, from early April to September, are typically hot and humid, with an average daily June high temperature of . The season experiences heat indices easily breaking . Winters are cool and foggy with few sunny days. The Western Disturbance brings some rain in winters that further adds to the chill. Spring and autumn are mild and pleasant seasons with low humidity. The monsoon season usually starts in the first week of July and continues till August. Thunderstorms are not uncommon during the Monsoon. The average annual rainfall is approximately . The highest ever temperature recorded is on 10 May 1966 and lowest ever is on 5 December 1966.


title: Gurgaon

text: The Gurgaon municipal corporation area has an estimated population of 11,53,000, according to the 2011 Census of India.


title: Gurgaon

text: Hinduism is the most popular religion in Gurgaon, followed by Islam, and Sikhism. There are small numbers of Christian, and Buddhist followers. Gurgaon has adherents of Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity and the Baháʼí Faith, amongst others. There are several places of worship for major religions, including mandirs, gurdwaras, mosques and churches.


title: Gurgaon

text: Sheetla Mata Mandir is a temple dedicated to the wife of . The temple hosts fairs and people come to seek blessings of Sheetla Mata.


title: Gurgaon

text: Sai Ka Aangan temple is dedicated to Shri Shirdi Sai Baba run by Sai Prakash Spiritual and Charitable Trust. The temple is Spread over an area of 4000 square yards and is located in Sushant Lok 1 area of the city.


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon has architecturally noteworthy buildings in a wide range of styles and from distinct time periods. Gurgaon's skyline with its many skyscrapers is nationally recognised, and the city has been home to several tall buildings with modern planning. Gurgaon has an estimated 1,892 high-rises. The average cost of a two-bedroom apartment at a decent condominium in Gurgaon is at least $160,130 (₹10,000,000).


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon is divided into 36 wards, with each ward further divided into blocks. The housing type in the city consists largely of attached housing, though many attached multi-dwelling units, including apartments, condominiums and high rise residential towers are getting popular.


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon has a complex park system, with various lands operated by the Gurgaon Metropolitan Development Authority. The key parks are Leisure Valley Park in Sector 29, which is over ; Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity Botanical Garden in Sector 52; Navisha Park in Malibu Towne, Sector-47; Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Park in Sector 14, popularly known as HUDA Garden; Tau Devi Lal park in Sector 23; and Aravali Biodiversity Park on MG Road. There are local parks in almost all sectors in Old Gurgaon.


title: Gurgaon

text: Notable performing art venues in the city include Epicentre in Sector 44 and Nautanki Mehal at the Kingdom of Dreams near IFFCO Chowk. Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao was born in Gurgaon. Shabri Prasad Singh organises the Gurgaon Cultural Festival and the Gurgaon Literature Festival.


title: Gurgaon

text: The main language spoken in Gurgaon is Hindi, though a segment of the population understands and speaks English. The dialect used in Hindi is similar to that of Delhi, and is considered neutral, though the regional influences from the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab adds an accent to the language. English is spoken with an Indian accent, with a primarily North Indian influence. Since Gurgaon has many international call centres, the employees are usually given formal training in neutral pronunciation in order to be understandable to native English speakers. Haryanvi and Punjabi are other popular languages spoken in the city. The other regional languages include Mewati and Haryanvi. Another language is Ahirwati, it is an Indo-Aryan language, classified as a Rajasthani language, and is spoken in the Mahendragarh, Rewari and Gurgaon districts of Haryana.


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon has adherents of Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity and the Baháʼí Faith, amongst others. There are several places of worship for major religions, including mandirs, gurdwaras, mosques and churches.


title: Gurgaon

text: Sheetla Mata Mandir is a temple dedicated to the wife of Guru Dronacharya. The temple hosts fairs and people come to seek blessings of Sheetla Mata.


title: Gurgaon

text: The city has two major sports stadiums: Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Sector 38, which has facilities for cricket, football, basketball and athletics as well as a sports hostel, and Nehru Stadium which is designed for football and athletics. Amity United FC is a tenant of Tau Devi Lal Stadium. Gurgaon district has nine golf courses, and is described as the "heart of India's golfing country". Joginder Rao, a domestic cricket player was from Gurgaon.


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon has the third-highest per-capita income in India and is the site of Indian offices for half of Fortune 500 companies. The city also benefits from its close proximity to Delhi. Maruti Suzuki Private Limited was the first company that set up a manufacturing unit in the city in 1970s making cars. Eventually, DLF Limited, a real estate company acquired vast stretches of land in the city. The first major American brand to set up a unit in Gurgaon was General Electric in 1997. General Electric's setup in Gurgaon prompted other companies, both international as well as domestic, to follow suit providing outsourcing solutions in software, IT, service and sales through delivery facilities and call centres. However, due to the lack of proper public transport and the inability of most of the employees to afford a personal vehicle, most of the call centres provide pooled-in cars to and from their offices. Apart from Business process outsourcing and IT sectors, the city is home to several other companies that specialise in domain expertise. Siemens Industry Software, in Gurgaon Business Park, made a portfolio of design software that was used by NASA to digitally design, simulate and assemble the vehicle before any physical prototypes were built. Various international companies, including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, BMW, Agilent Technologies, Hyundai have chosen Gurgaon to be their Indian corporate headquarters. All the major companies in the city depend on their own backup, given the fact that Gurgaon does not have reliable power and water supply, public transport and utilities. Retail is an important industry in Gurgaon, with the presence of 26 shopping malls.


title: Gurgaon

text: All Nippon Airways, a Japanese airline, maintains its Delhi sales office in the Time Tower in Gurgaon .


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon is governed by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram which follows a Mayor-Council system. In 2017, the GMDA (Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority) was formed, which looks after the city's infrastructure.


title: Gurgaon

text: The city reported 89 homicides in 2012. The total vehicle thefts registered by the police in Gurgaon in 2014 was 3,638.


title: Gurgaon

text: The police department in Gurgaon is headed by the Commissioner of Police - Gurugram Police, which forms a part of the Haryana Police. and reports to the Haryana state government. In 2018 KK Rao (IPS) was appointed Commissioner of Police in Gurgaon. Gurugram Police has a separate traffic police department headquartered in sector 51. Fire protection within the city limits is provided by Municipal Corporation of Gurugram through four fire stations, located in sector 29, sector 37, Udyog Vihar and Bhim Nagar.


title: Gurgaon

text: The city's public school system is managed by the government of Haryana and administered by Haryana Board of School Education.


title: Gurgaon

text: There are several universities and institutes located in Gurgaon and the surrounding area, including newly established Gurugram University, Sushant School of Art and Architecture, Ansal University, ITM University, GD Goenka University, K.R. Mangalam University, Amity University, Apeejay Education Society, BML Munjal University, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, and National Brain Research Centre.


title: Gurgaon

text: The major highway that links Gurgaon is National Highway 48, the road that runs from Delhi to Mumbai. While the Delhi-Gurgaon border-Kherki Dhaula stretch has been developed as the Delhi–Gurgaon Expressway, the rest is expanded to six lanes.


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon railway station is operated by Northern Railway of Indian Railways. The rail station forms a part of the larger Indian Railways network. Along with that, Gurgaon has Tajnagar railway station, Dhankot railway station, Ghari Harsaru Railway Junction and Farrukhnagar Railway Station, Patli Railway Station. Under Modernisation of Railway Stations, Indian Railways is modernising four railway stations in Gurgaon. Gurgaon railway station, Ghari Harsaru Railway Junction and Farrukhnagar Railway Station will be developed and modernised with modern amenities and international facilities.


title: Gurgaon

text: There are five stations served by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. located on the Yellow Line, which are HUDA City Centre, IFFCO Chowk, MG Road, Sikanderpur and Guru Droncharya.


title: Gurgaon

text: The Rapid Metro has eleven stations in Gurgaon, with an interchange with Yellow Line of Delhi Metro at Sikanderpur metro station. The Rapid Metro became operational in November 2013 and currently covers a distance of . One more phase of the project is in the pipeline and would take the total number of subway stations in the city to 16. An estimated 33,000 people ride the Rapid Metro every day, which provides an exclusive elevated transit service with three coach trains that run in a loop.


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon is served by Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, which is located just outside of Gurgaon city limits near National Highway 8.


title: Gurgaon

text: In November 2013, Gurgaon launched an "Ciclovia"-inspired initiative known as "Raahgiri Day"—in which a corridor of streets are closed to motor vehicle traffic on Sunday mornings to encourage the use of non-motorized transport and participation in outdoor leisure activities. Gurgaon was the first city in India to implement such a program, followed by New Delhi, and later Noida.


title: Gurgaon

text: Electricity in Gurgaon is provided by government-owned Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam. Gurgaon has power consumer base of 360,000 with average power load of 700-800 MW. There are frequent power outages in the city, especially during the peak consumption season of summer. Apart from the power deficit, the equipment used by the power department like transformers, panels and transmission lines is either old or overburdened.


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon is notorious for its urban floods every monsoon. The areas on NH-8 around Hero Honda Chowk, Basai, Dhankot, sector 37 etc. see massive urban floods and headlines grabbing traffic jams reported widely in news media. A recent research report puts the blame on the broken natural water body linkage and obstructions in the flow in the city due to frantic construction during the last decades. The HUDA master drainage lines get choked or burst at the seams. Disruptions in the hydrological flow of natural drains and limited drainage capacity are all primary reasons for the floods.


title: Gurgaon

text: Gurgaon's Ghata Jheel, Badshahpur Jheel, Khandsa Talab were linked to Najafgarh drain which links to Yamuna river, via natural water channels and drains.


title: Gurgaon

text: As per the ground reports and research, the three natural water bodies are struggling for their existence with encroachments on their lands and natural channels. Agencies responsible have tried to create artificial water bodies to compensate, but the efforts fail due to unpredictable rain and water flow patterns leading to deployment of water pumps to fight the situation.


title: Gurgaon

text: In 2012 Punjab & Haryana High court banned ground water usage for construction activity, and NGT has recently reprimanded authorities for drain concretization.


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: Embeth Jean Davidtz (born August 11, 1965) is an American-South African actress. Her screen roles include movies such as "Army of Darkness", "Schindler's List, ""Matilda", "Mansfield Park", "Bicentennial Man", "Fallen," "Junebug," and "Fracture", and the television series "Mad Men," "Californication, In Treatment," and "Ray Donovan".


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: Davidtz was born in Lafayette, Indiana, to South African parents John and Jean, while her father was studying chemical engineering at Purdue University. The family later moved to Trenton, New Jersey, and then to South Africa when Davidtz was nine years old. Davidtz has Dutch, English, and French ancestry. She had to learn Afrikaans before attending school classes in South Africa, where her father took up a teaching post at Potchefstroom University. Davidtz graduated from The Glen High School in Pretoria in 1983 and studied at Rhodes University in Grahamstown.


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: Davidtz made her acting debut at age 21 with CAPAB (Cape Performing Arts Board, now known as Artscape) in Cape Town, playing Juliet in a stage production of "Romeo and Juliet" at the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre. Performing in English and Afrikaans, she also starred in other local plays, including "Stille Nag" (Silent Night) and "A Chain of Voices", both earning her nominations for the South African equivalent of the Tony Award.


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: Her film debut came in 1988 with a small role in South African-filmed American horror "Mutator". Shortly after, she won a bigger part in South African short telemovie "A Private Life", as the daughter of an interracial couple. Davidtz won a DALRO Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 1990 play "Houd-den-bek". For the same play, she was nominated in 1991 for the Esther Roos Award for Best Actress in a Supporting role in Afrikaans film. Steven Spielberg noticed her performance in the 1992 South African film, "Nag van die Negentiende" and offered her the role of Helen Hirsch in "Schindler's List".


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: In 1995, Davidtz had a central role in the fact-based film "Murder in the First", and the Merchant Ivory Productions "Feast of July".


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: In "Matilda" (1996), she played the role of Miss Honey, the first-grade teacher of the title character.


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: In 1998, Davidtz played a theologian helping Denzel Washington crack a supernatural wave of crimes in the mystery drama "Fallen" and a femme fatale linked to Kenneth Branagh in Robert Altman's in "The Gingerbread Man". The following year, Davidtz portrayed a 19th-century woman of the world in Patricia Rozema's reworking of the Jane Austen comedy "Mansfield Park" and played a dual role opposite Robin Williams in the futuristic fable "Bicentennial Man".


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: A supporting role in the 2001 film "Bridget Jones' Diary" saw Davidtz play Natasha, a colleague and one of the love interests of Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). That year, she began her run on the CBS drama "Citizen Baines", playing the daughter of a defeated United States Senate incumbent (James Cromwell) who is herself leaning towards a career in politics. Other roles included horror thrillers like 2001's "Thirteen Ghosts" alongside Tony Shalhoub. In 2002, she appeared in the Michael Hoffman drama "The Emperor's Club".


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: In "Junebug" (2005), she played an outsider art dealer from Chicago brought to North Carolina to meet her husband's family for the first time. Davidtz has also guest-starred on the ABC drama series "Grey's Anatomy" as Dr. Derek Shepherd's sister Nancy in the Season 3 episode "Let the Angels Commit". In 2008, she had a regular role on HBO's "In Treatment" as Amy, part of a fractious couple alongside Josh Charles's Jake.


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: She portrayed the unfaithful and unfortunate wife of Anthony Hopkins's character in the 2007 drama "Fracture".


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: From 2009 to 2012, she played Rebecca Pryce, wife of Lane Pryce, in the AMC television show "Mad Men". She also played Felicia Koons, the wife of the dean and the mother of Becca's best friend, Chelsea, on Showtime's "Californication".


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: Davidtz played Annika Blomkvist in the 2011 English language version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". She also briefly appeared in the 2012 Spider-Man reboot "The Amazing Spider-Man" as Mary Parker, Peter Parker's missing mother.


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: Davidtz married entertainment attorney Jason Sloane on June 22, 2002, and they have two children. The family lives in Los Angeles.


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: Davidtz has a younger sister who, as of April 2009, was a psychologist at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.


title: Embeth Davidtz

text: In an interview regarding her guest appearances in 2016 on "Ray Donovan", in which she portrayed a breast-cancer survivor, Davidtz revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, which had caused her to stop working and for which she underwent a mastectomy. The role was Davidtz's first after undergoing treatment, and when informed that it required nudity, Davidtz worked with producer David Hollander to incorporate her partially-reconstructed right breast into the story, turning down the use of a prosthetic as a substitute for her right nipple that was due to be restored through surgery. "Somebody might not believe it if an actress pretended to have their nipple gone and said, 'Look, I'm still sexual and pretty.' But when it's real, I hope it makes someone feel beautiful. I still feel beautiful," said Davidtz regarding the message she wished to convey by taking the role.


title: Snow White

text: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection "Grimms' Fairy Tales" and numbered as Tale 53. The original German title was "Sneewittchen", a Low German form, but the first version gave the High German translation "Schneeweißchen", and the tale has become known in German by the mixed form "Schneewittchen". The Grimms completed their final revision of the story in 1854, which can be found in the in 1957 version of "Grimms' Fairy Tales".


title: Snow White

text: The fairy tale features such elements as the magic mirror, the poisoned apple, the glass coffin, and the characters of the Evil Queen and the seven Dwarfs. The seven dwarfs were first given individual names in the 1912 Broadway play "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and then given different names in Walt Disney's 1937 film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". The Grimm story, which is commonly referred to as "Snow White", should not be confused with the story of "Snow-White and Rose-Red" (in German ""), another fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm.


title: Snow White

text: In the Aarne–Thompson folklore classification, tales of this kind are grouped together as type 709, Snow White. Others of this kind include "Bella Venezia", "Myrsina", "Nourie Hadig", "Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree", "The Young Slave", and "La petite Toute-Belle".


title: Snow White

text: At the beginning of the story, a queen sits sewing at an open window during a winter snowfall when she pricks her finger with her needle, causing three drops of red blood to drip onto the freshly fallen white snow on the black windowsill. Then, she says to herself, "How I wish that I had a daughter that had skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as ebony." Sometime later, the queen dies giving birth to a baby daughter who becomes Snow White. (However, in the 1812 version of the tale, the queen does not die but later behaves the same way the step-mother does in later versions of the tale, including the 1854 iteration.) A year later, Snow White's father, the king, marries again. His new wife is very beautiful, but a vain and wicked woman who practices witchcraft. The new queen possesses a magic mirror, which she asks every morning, "Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" The mirror always tells the queen that she is the fairest. The queen is always pleased with that response because the magic mirror never lies. But when Snow White is seven years old, her fairness surpasses that of her stepmother. When the queen again asks her mirror the same question, it tells her that Snow White is the fairest.


title: Snow White

text: This gives the queen a great shock. She becomes envious, and from that moment on, her heart turns against Snow White, whom the queen grows to hate increasingly with time. Eventually, she orders a huntsman to take Snow White into the forest and kill her. As proof that Snow White is dead, the queen also wants him to return with her heart, which she will consume in order to become immortal. The huntsman takes Snow White into the forest, but after raising his dagger, he finds himself unable to kill her. When Snow White learns of her stepmother's evil plan she tearfully begs the huntsman, "Spare me this mockery of justice! I will run away into the forest and never come home again!" After seeing the tears in the princess's eyes, the huntsman reluctantly agrees to spare Snow White and brings the queen the heart of an animal instead.


title: Snow White

text: After wandering through the forest for hours, Snow White discovers a tiny cottage belonging to a group of seven dwarfs. Since no one is at home, she eats some of the tiny meals, drinks some of their wine, and then tests all the beds. Finally, the last bed is comfortable enough for her, and she falls asleep. When the dwarfs return home, they immediately become aware that there has been a burglar in their house, because everything in their home is in disorder. Prowling about frantically, they head upstairs and discover the sleeping Snow White. She wakes up and explains to them about her stepmother's attempt to kill her, and the dwarfs take pity on her and let her stay with them in exchange for a job as a housemaid. They warn her to be careful when alone at home and to let no one in while they are working in the mountains.


title: Snow White

text: Snow White grows into an absolutely lovely, fair and beautiful young maiden. Meanwhile, the queen, who believes she got rid of Snow White a decade earlier, asks her mirror once again: "Magic mirror on the wall, who now is the fairest one of all?" The mirror tells her that not only is Snow White still the fairest in the land, but she is also currently hiding with the dwarfs. The queen is furious and decides to kill the girl herself. First, she appears at the dwarfs' cottage, disguised as an old peddler, and offers Snow White colorful, silky laced bodices as a present. The queen laces her up so tightly that Snow White faints; the dwarfs return just in time to revive Snow White by loosening the laces. Next, the queen dresses up as a comb seller and convinces Snow White to take a beautiful comb as a present; she strokes Snow White's hair with the poisoned comb. The girl is overcome by the poison from the comb, but is again revived by the dwarfs when they remove the comb from her hair. Finally, the queen disguises herself as a farmer's wife and offers Snow White a poisoned apple. Snow White is hesitant to accept it, so the queen cuts the apple in half, eating the white (harmless) half and giving the red poisoned half to Snow White; the girl eagerly takes a bite and then falls into a coma, causing the Queen to think she has finally triumphed. This time, the dwarfs are unable to revive Snow White, and, assuming that the queen has finally killed her, they place her in a glass casket as a funeral for her.


title: Snow White

text: The next day, a prince stumbles upon a seemingly-dead Snow White lying in her glass coffin during a hunting trip. After hearing her story from the Seven Dwarfs, the prince is allowed to take Snow White to her proper resting place back at her father's castle. All of a sudden, while Snow White is being transported, one of the prince's servants trips and loses his balance. This dislodges the piece of the poisoned apple from Snow White's throat, magically reviving her. The Prince is overjoyed with this miracle, and he declares his love for the now alive and well Snow White, who, surprised to meet him face to face, humbly accepts his marriage proposal. The prince invites everyone in the land to their wedding, except for Snow White's stepmother.


title: Snow White

text: The queen, believing herself finally to be rid of Snow White, asks again her magic mirror who is the fairest in the land. The mirror says that there is a bride of a prince, who is yet fairer than she. The queen decides to visit the wedding and investigate. Once she arrives, the Queen becomes frozen with rage and fear when she finds out that the prince's bride is her stepdaughter, Snow White herself. The furious Queen tries to sow chaos and attempts to kill her again, but the prince recognizes her as a threat to Snow White when he learns the truth from his bride. As punishment for the attempted murder of Snow White, the prince orders the Queen to wear a pair of red-hot iron slippers and to dance in them until she drops dead. With the evil Queen finally defeated and dead, her wedding to the prince peacefully continues.


title: Snow White

text: Scholars have theorized about the possible origins of the tale, with folklorists such as Sigrid Schmidt, Joseph Jacobs and Christine Goldberg noting that it combines multiple motifs also found in other folktales. Scholar Graham Anderson compares the fairy tale to the Roman legend of Chione, or "Snow," recorded in Ovid's "Metamorphoses".


title: Snow White

text: In the 1980s and 1990s, some German authors suggested that the fairy tale could have been inspired by a real person. Eckhard Sander, a teacher, claimed that the inspiration was Margaretha von Waldeck, a German countess born in 1533, as well as several other women in her family. Karlheinz Bartels, a pharmacist and scholar from Lohr am Main, a town in northwestern Bavaria, created a tongue-in-cheek theory that Snow White was Maria Sophia Margarethe Catharina, Baroness von und zu Erthal, born in 1725. However, these theories are generally dismissed by serious scholars, with folklore professor Donald Haase calling them “pure speculation and not at all convincing.”


title: Snow White

text: In 2013, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a trademark to Disney Enterprises, Inc. for the name "Snow White" that covers all live and recorded movie, television, radio, stage, computer, Internet, news, and photographic entertainment uses, excluding literary works of fiction and nonfiction.


title: Snow White

text: The principal studies of traditional "Snow White" variants are Ernst Böklen's, "Schneewittchen Studien" of 1910, which reprints fifty Snow White variants, and studies by Steven Swann Jones. In their first edition, the Brothers Grimm published the version they had first collected, in which the villain of the piece is Snow White's jealous "biological" mother. In a version sent to another folklorist prior to the first edition, additionally, she does not order a servant to take her to the woods, but takes her there herself to gather flowers and abandons her; in the first edition, this task was transferred to a servant. It is believed that the change to a stepmother in later editions was to tone down the story for children.


title: Snow White

text: A popular but sanitized version of the story is the 1937 American animated film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" by Walt Disney. Disney's variation of Snow White gave the dwarfs names and included a singing Snow White. The Disney film also is the only version in which Snow White and her prince meet before she bites the apple; in fact, it is this meeting that sets the plot in motion. Instead of her lungs and liver, as written in the original, the huntsman is asked by the queen to bring back Snow White's heart. While the heart is mentioned, it is never shown in the box. Snow White is also older and more mature. And she is discovered by the dwarfs after "cleaning" the house, not vandalizing it. Furthermore, in the Disney movie the evil queen tries only once to kill Snow White (with the poisoned apple) and fails. She then dies by falling down a cliff and being crushed by a boulder, after the dwarfs had chased her through the forest. In the original, the queen is forced to dance to death in red hot iron slippers.


title: Snow White

text: This tale type is widespread in Europe, in America, in Africa and "in some Turkic traditions". The tale is also said to be found in the Middle East, in China, in India and in the Americas.


title: Snow White

text: In regards to the Turkic distribution of the tale, parallels are also said to exist in Central Asia and Eastern Siberia, among the Mongolians and Tungusian peoples.


title: Snow White

text: Studies by Sigrid Schmidt and Hasan El-Shamy point to the presence of the tale type across the African continent (North, West, Central, East and Southeast), often combined with other tale types.


title: Snow White

text: A primary analysis by Celtic folklorist Alfred Nutt, in the 19th century, established the tale type, in Europe, was distributed "from the Balkan peninsula to Iceland, and from Russia to Catalonia", with the highest number of variants being found in Germany and Italy.


title: Snow White

text: This geographical distribution seemed to be confirmed by scholarly studies of the 20th century. A 1957 article by Italian philologist Gianfranco D'Aronco () studied the most diffused "Tales of Magic" in Italian territory, among which "Biancaneve". A scholarly inquiry by Italian "Istituto centrale per i beni sonori ed audiovisivi" ("Central Institute of Sound and Audiovisual Heritage"), produced in the late 1960s and early 1970s, found thirty-seven variants of the tale across Italian sources. A similar assessment was made by scholar Sigrid Schmidt, who claimed that the tale type was "particularly popular" in Southern Europe, "specially" in Italy, Greece and Iberian Peninsula. Similarly, Waldemar Liungmann suggested Italy as center of diffusion of the story.


title: Snow White

text: Another study points to a wide distribution in Western Europe, specially in Ireland, Iceland and Scandinavia.


title: Snow White

text: The Brothers Grimm's "Snow White" was predated by several other German versions of the tale, with the earliest being Johann Karl August Musäus's "Richilde" (1782), a satirical novella told from the wicked stepmother's point of view. Albert Ludwig Grimm (no relation to the Brothers Grimm) published a play version, "Schneewittchen", in 1809. The Grimms collected at least eight other distinct variants of the tale, which they considered one of the most famous German folktales.


title: Snow White

text: In most Italian versions the heroine is not the daughter of a king but an innkeeper, the antagonist is not her stepmother but her biological mother, and instead of dwarfs she takes refuge with robbers, as we can see in "La Bella Venezia" an Abruzzian version collected by Antonio De Nino, in which the mother asks her customers if they have seen a woman more beautiful than she. If they say they didn't, she only charges them half the price, if they say they did she charges them twice the price. When the customers tell her that her daughter is prettier than her, she gets jealous. In "Maria, her Evil Stepmother and the Seven Robbers" ("Maria, die böse Stiefmutter und die sieben Räuber"), a Sicilian version collected by Laura Gonzenbach the heroine also lives with robbers, but the antagonist is her stepmother and she's not an innkeeper.


title: Snow White

text: Sometimes the heroine's protectors are female instead of male, as in "The Cruel Stepmother" (), a variant collected by Angelo de Gubernatis in which, like in the Grimm's version, Snow White's counterpart, called here Caterina, is the daughter of a king, and the antagonist is her stepmother, who orders her servants to kill her stepdaughter after she hears people commenting how much prettier Caterina is than she. One day the two women are going to mass together. Instead of a male protector, Caterina takes refuge in a house by the seashore where an old woman lives. Later a witch discovers that Caterina's still alive and where she lives, so she goes to tell the queen, who sends her back to the cottage to kill her with poisoned flowers instead of an apple. A similar version from Siena was collected by Sicilian folklorist Giuseppe Pitrè, in which the heroine, called Ermellina, runs away from home riding an eagle who takes her away to a palace inhabited by fairies. Ermellina's stepmother sends a witch disguised as her stepdaughter's servants to the fairies' palace to try to kill her twice, first with poisoned sweetmeats and the second time with an enchanted dress. Pitré also collected a variant from Palermo titled "Child Margarita" ("La 'Nfanti Margarita") where the heroine stays in a haunted castle.


title: Snow White

text: There's also a couple of conversions that combines the ATU tale type 709 with the second part of the type 410 "Sleeping Beauty", in which, when the heroine is awakened, the prince's mother tries to kill her and the children she has had with the prince. Gonzenbach collected two variants from Sicily, the first one called "Maruzzedda" and the second "Beautiful Anna"; and Vittorio Imbriani collected a version titled "La Bella Ostessina".


title: Snow White

text: In some versions, the antagonists are not the heroine's mother or stepmother, but her two elder sisters, as in a version from Trentino collected by Christian Schneller, or a version from Bologna collected by Carolina Coronedi-Berti. In this last version, the role of both the mirror and the dwarfs is played by the Moon, which tells the elder sisters that the youngest, called Ziricochel, is the prettiest, and later hides her in his palace. When the sisters discover Ziricochel is still alive, they send an astrologer to kill her. After several attempts, she finally manages to turn her into a statue with an enchanted shirt. Ziricochel is revived after the prince's sisters take the shirt off.


title: Snow White

text: Italo Calvino included the version from Bologna collected by Coronedi Berti, retitling it "Giricoccola", and the Abruzzian version collected by De Nino in Italian Folktales.


title: Snow White

text: Paul Sébillot collected two variants from Brittany in northwestern France. In the first one, titled "The Enchanted Stockings" ("Les Bas enchantés"), starts similarly to Gubernatis' version, with the heroine being the daughter of a queen, and her mother wanting to kill her after soldier marching in front of her balcony says the princess is prettier than the queen. The role of the poisoned apple is fulfilled by the titular stockings, and the heroine is revived after the prince's little sister takes them off when she's playing. In the second, titled La petite Toute-Belle, a servant accuses the heroine of stealing the things she stole and then throws her in a well. The heroine survives the fall and ends up living with three dragons that live at the bottom of the well. When the heroine's mother discovers her daughter is still alive, she twice sends a fairy to attempt to kill her, first with sugar almonds, which the dragons warn her are poisoned before she eats them, and then with a red dress. In another version from Brittany, this one collected by François Cadic, the heroine is called Rose-Neige (Eng: Snow-Rose) because her mother pricked her finger with a rose in a snowy day and wished to have a child as beautiful as the rose. The role of the dwarfs is played by Korrigans, dwarf-like creatures from the Breton folklore. Louis Morin collected a version from Troyes in northeastern France, where like in the Grimm's version the mother questions a magic mirror. A version from Corsica titled "Anghjulina" was collected by Geneviève Massignon, where the roles of both the huntsman and the dwarfs are instead a group of bandits whom Anghjulina's mother asks to kill her daughter, but they instead take her away to live with them in the woods.


title: Snow White

text: A Flemish version from Antwerp collected by Victor de Meyere is quite similar to the version collected by the brothers Grimm. The heroine is called Sneeuwwitje (Snow White in Dutch), she is the queen's stepdaughter, and the stepmother questions a mirror. Instead of dwarfs, the princess is taken in by seven kabouters. Instead of going to kill Snow White herself, the queen twice sends the witch who had sold her the magic mirror to kill Sneeuwwitje, first with a comb and the second time with an apple. But the most significant difference is that the role of the prince in this version is instead Snow White's father, the king.


title: Snow White

text: Another Flemish variant, this one from Hamme, differs more from Grimm’s story. The one who wants to kill the heroine, called here Mauricia, is her own biological mother. She is convinced by a demon with a spider head that if her daughter dies, she will become beautiful. The mother sends two servants to kill Mauricia, bringing as proof a lock of her hair, a bottle with her blood, a piece of her tongue and a piece of her clothes. The servants spare Mauricia’s life, as well as her pet sheep. To deceive Mauricia’s mother, they buy a goat and bring a bottle with the animal’s blood as well as a piece of his tongue. Meanwhile, Mauricia is taken in by seventeen robbers who live in a cave deep in the forest, instead of seven dwarfs. When Mauricia’s mother discovers that her daughter is still alive, she goes to the robbers’ cave disguised. She turns her daughter into a bird, and she takes her place. The plan fails and Mauricia recovers her human form, so the mother tries to kill her by using a magic ring which the demon gave her. Mauricia is awoken when a prince takes the ring off her finger. When he asks her if he would marry her, she rejects him and returns with the seventeen robbers.


title: Snow White

text: One of the first versions from Spain, titled "The Beautiful Stepdaughter" ("La hermosa hijastra"), was collected by Manuel Milá y Fontanals, in which a demon tells the stepmother that her stepdaughter is prettier than she is when she's looking at herself in the mirror. The stepmother orders her servants to take her stepdaughter to the forest and kill her, bringing a bottle with her blood as proof. But the servants spare her life and instead kill a dog. Eight days later the demon warns her that the blood in the bottle is not her stepdaughter's, and the stepmother sends her servants again, ordering them to bring one of her toes as proof. The stepdaughter later discovers four men living in the forest, inside a rock that can open and close with the right words. Every day after she sees the men leave she enters the cave and cleans it up. Believing it must be an intruder, the men take turns to stay at the cavern, but the first one falls asleep during his watch. The second one manages to catch the girl, and they agree to let the girl live with them. Later, the same demon that told her stepmother that her stepdaughter was prettier gives the girl an enchanted ring, that has the same role that the apple in the Grimm's version. The version in Catalan included by Francisco Maspons y Labrós in the second volume of "Lo Rondallayre" follows that plot fairly closely, with some minor differences.


title: Snow White

text: In an Aragonese version titled "The Good Daughter" ("La buena hija") collected by Romualdo Nogués y Milagro, there's no mirror. Instead, the story starts with the mother already hating her daughter because she's prettier, and ordering a servant to kill her, bringing as proof her heart, tongue, and her little finger. The servant spares her and brings the mother the heart and tongue from a dog he ran over and says he lost the finger. The daughter is taken in by robbers living in a cavern, but despite all, she still misses her mother. One day an old woman appears and gives her a ring, saying that if she puts it on she'll see her mother. The daughter actually falls unconscious when she does put it on because the old woman is actually a witch who wants to kidnap her, but she can't because of the scapular the girl is wearing, so she locks her in a crystal casket, where the girl is later found by the prince.


title: Snow White

text: In a version from Mallorca collected by Antoni Maria Alcover i Sureda titled "Na Magraneta," a queen wishes to have a daughter after eating a pomegranate and calls her Magraneta. As in the Grimm's version the queen asks her mirror who's the most beautiful. The dwarf's role is fulfilled by thirteen men who are described as big as giants, who live in a castle in the middle of the forest called "Castell de la Colometa", whose doors can open and close by command. When the queen discovers thanks to her mirror that her daughter is still alive she sends an evil fairy disguised as an old woman. The role of the poisoned apple is fulfilled by an iron ring.


title: Snow White

text: Aurelio Macedonio Espinosa Sr. collected two Spanish versions. The first one, titled "Blanca Flor", is from Villaluenga de la Sagra, in Toledo. In this one the villain is the heroine's own biological mother, and like in "Na Magraneta" she questions a mirror if there's a woman more beautiful than she is. Instead of ordering a huntsman or servant to kill her daughter, after the mirror tells the woman her daughter has surpassed her, she tries to get rid of her daughter herself, inviting her to go for a walk in the countryside, and when they reach a rock she recites some spells from her book, making the rock swallow her daughter. Fortunately thanks to her prayers to the Virgin the daughter survives and gets out the rock, and she is later taken in by twelve robbers living in a castle. When the mother discovers her daughter is still alive, she sends a witch to kill her, who gives the daughter an enchanted silk shirt. The moment she puts it on, she falls in a deathlike state. She's later revived when a sexton takes the shirt off. The second one, titled "The Envious Mother" ("La madre envidiosa"), comes from Jaraíz de la Vera, Cáceres. Here the villain is also the heroine's biological mother, and she's an innkeeper who asks a witch whether there's a woman prettier than she is. Instead of a shirt, here the role of the apple is fulfilled by enchanted shoes. Aurelio de Llano Roza de Ampudia collected an Asturian version from Teverga titled "The Envious Stepmother" ("La madrastra envidiosa"), in which the stepmother locks her stepdaughter in a room with the hope that no one will see her and think she's more beautiful. But the attempt fails when a guest tells the mother the girl locked in a room is prettier than she is. The story ends with the men that found the heroine discussing who should marry the girl once she's revived, and she replies by telling them that she chooses to marry the servant who revived her. Aurelio Macedonio Espinosa Jr. collected four versions. The first one is titled "Blancanieves", is from Medina del Campo, Valladolid, and follows the plot of the Grimm's version fairly closely with barely any significant differences. The same happens with the second one, titled "Blancaflor", that comes from Tordesillas, another location from Valladolid. The last two are the ones that present more significant differences, although like in Grimm's the stepmother questions a magic mirror. "The Bad Stepmother" ("La mala madrastra") comes from Sepúlveda, Segovia, and also has instead of seven dwarfs the robbers that live in a cave deep in the forest, that can open and close at command. Here the words to make it happen are "Open, parsley!" and "Close, peppermint!" The last one, "Blancaflor", is from Siete Iglesias de Trabancos, also in Valladolid, ends with the heroine buried after biting a poisoned pear, and the mirror proclaiming that, now that her stepdaughter is finally dead, the stepmother is the most beautiful again.


title: Snow White

text: One of the first Portuguese versions was collected by Francisco Adolfo Coelho. It was titled "The Enchanted Shoes" ("Os sapatinhos encantados"), where the heroine is the daughter of an innkeeper, who asks muleteers if they have seen a woman prettier than she is. One day, one answers that her daughter is prettier. The daughter takes refugee with a group of robbers who live in the forest, and the role of the apple is fulfilled by the titular enchanted shoes. Zófimo Consiglieri Pedroso collected another version, titled "The Vain Queen", in which the titular queen questions her maids of honor and servants who's the most beautiful. One day, when she asks the same question to her chamberlain, he replies the queen's daughter is more beautiful than she is. The queen orders her servants to behead her daughter bring back his tongue as proof, but they instead spare her and bring the queen a dog's tongue. The princess is taken in by a man, who gives her two options, to live with him as either his wife or his daughter, and the princess chooses the second. The rest of the tale is quite different from most versions, with the titular queen completely disappeared from the story, and the story focusing instead of a prince that falls in love with the princess.


title: Snow White

text: In the Scottish version Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree, queen Silver-Tree asks a trout in a well, instead of a magic mirror, who's the most beautiful. When the trout tells her that Gold-Tree, her daughter, is more beautiful, Silver-Tree pretends to fall ill, declaring that her only cure is to eat her own daughter's heart and liver. To save his daughter's life, the king marries her off to a prince, and serves his wife a goat's heart and liver. After Silver-Tree discovers that she has been deceived thanks to the trout, she visits her daughter and sticks her finger on a poisoned thorn. The prince later remarries, and his second wife removes the poisoned thorn from Gold-Tree, reviving her. The second wife then tricks the queen into drinking the poison that was meant for Gold-Tree. In another Scottish version, "Lasair Gheug, the King of Ireland's Daughter", the heroine's stepmother frames the princess for the murder of the queen's firstborn and manages to make her swear she'll never tell the truth to anybody. Lasair Gheug, a name that in Gaelic means Flame of Branches, take refugee with thirteen cats, who turn out to be an enchanted prince and his squires. After marrying the prince and having three sons with him the queen discovers her stepdaughter is still alive, also thanks to a talking trout, and sends three giants of ice to put her in a death-like state. As in "Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree" the prince takes a second wife afterwards, and the second wife is the one who revives the heroine. Thomas William Thompson collected an English version from Blackburn simply titled "Snow White" which follows Grimm's plot much more closely, although with some significant differences, such as Snow White being taken in by three robbers instead of seven dwarfs.


title: Snow White

text: One of the first Danish versions collected was "Snehvide" ("Snow White"), by Mathias Winther. In this variant, the stepmother is the princess' nurse, who persuades Snow White to ask her father to marry her. Because the king says he won't remarry until grass grows in the grave of the princess' mother, the nurse plants magic seeds in the grave so grass will grow quicker. Then, after the king marries the nurse, Snow White gets betrothed to a prince, who choses her over the nurse's three biological daughters, but after that the king and the prince had to leave to fight in a war. The queen seizes her opportunity to chase Snow White away, and she ends up living with the dwarfs in a mountain. When the queen finds out Snow White is still alive thanks to a magic mirror, she sends her daughters three times, each time one of them, with poisoned gifts to give them to her. With the third gift, a poisoned apple, Snow White falls into a deep sleep, and the dwarfs leave her in the forest, fearing that the king would accuse them of killing her once he comes back. When the king and the prince finally come back from the war and find Snow White's body, the king dies of sorrow, but the prince manages to wake her up. After that we see an ending quite similar to the ones in "The Goose Girl" and "The Three Oranges of Love" the prince and Snow White get married, and the prince invites the stepmother and asks her what punishment deserve someone who has heard someone as innocent as Snow White. The queen suggests for the culprit to be put inside a barrel full of needles, and the prince tells the stepmother she has pronounced her own sentence. Evald Tang Kristensen collected a version titled "The Pretty Girl and the Crystal Bowls" (), which, like some Italian variants, combines the tale type 709 with the type 410. In this version, the stepmother questions a pair of crystal bowls instead of a magic mirror, and when they tell her that her stepdaughter is prettier, she sends her to a witch's hut where she's tricked to eat a porridge that makes her pregnant. Ashamed that her daughter has become pregnant out of wedlock she kicks her out, but the girl is taken in by a shepherd. Later a crow lets a ring fall on the huts' floor, and, when the heroine puts it on, she falls in a deathlike state. Believing she's dead the shepherd kills himself and the heroine is later revived when she gives birth to twins, each one of them with a star on the forehead, and one of them sucks the ring off her finger. She's later found by a prince, whose mother tries to kill the girl and her children.


title: Snow White

text: A Swedish version titled "The Daughter of the Sun and the Twelve Bewitched Princes" () starts pretty similarly to the Grimm's version, with a queen wishing to have a child as white as snow and as red as blood, but that child turned out to be not the heroine but the villain, her own biological mother. Instead of a mirror, the queen asks the Sun, who tells her that her daughter will surpass her in beauty. Because of it the queen orders that her daughter must be raised in the countryside, away from the Royal Court, but when It's time for the princess to come back the queen orders a servant to throw her in a well before she arrives. In the bottom, the princess meets twelve princes cursed to be chimeras, and she agrees to live with them. When the queen and the servant discover she's alive, they give her poisoned candy, which she eats. After being revived by a young king she marries him and has a son with him, but the queen goes to the castle pretending to be a midwife, turns her daughter into a golden bird by sticking a needle on her head, and then the queen takes her daughter's place. After disenchanting the twelve princes with her singing, the princess returns to the court, where she's finally restored to her human form, and her mother is punished after she believed she ate her own daughter while she was still under the spell.


title: Snow White

text: French folklorist Henri Carnoy collected a Greek version, titled "Marietta and the Witch her Stepmother" (), in which the heroine is manipulated by her governess to kill her own mother, so the governess could marry her father. Soon after she marries Marietta's father, the new stepmother orders her husband to get rid of his daughter. Marietta ends up living in a castle with forty giants. Meanwhile, Marietta's stepmother, believing her stepdaughter is dead, asks the Sun who's the most beautiful. When the Sun answers Marietta is more beautiful, she realises her stepdaughter is still alive, and, disguised as a peddler, goes to the giants' castle to kill her. She goes twice, the first trying to kill her with an enchanted ring, and the second with poisoned grapes. After Marietta is awoken and marries the prince, the stepmother goes to the prince's castle pretending to be a midwife, sticks a fork on Marietta's head to turn her into a pigeon, and then takes her place. After several transformations, Marietta recovers her human form and her stepmother is punished. Georgios A. Megas collected another Greek version, titled Myrsina, in which the antagonists are the heroine's two elder sisters, and the role of the seven dwarfs is fulfilled by the Twelve Months.


title: Snow White

text: Austrian diplomat Johann Georg von Hahn collected a version from Albania, that also starts with the heroine, called Marigo, killing her mother so her governess can marry her father. But after the marriage, Marigo's stepmother asks the king to get rid of the princess, but instead of killing her the king just abandons her daughter in the woods. Marigo finds a castle inhabited by forty dragons instead of giants, that take her in as their surrogate sister. After discovering her stepdaughter is still alive thanks also to the Sun, the queen twice sends her husband to the dragons' castle to kill Marigo, first with enchanted hair-pins and the second time with an enchanted ring. In another Albanian version, titled "Fatimé" and collected by French folklorist Auguste Dozon, the antagonists are also the heroine's two elder sisters, as in "Myrsina".


title: Snow White

text: According to Christine Shojaei Kawan, the earliest surviving folktale version of the Snow White story is a Russian tale published anonymously in 1795. The heroine is Olga, a merchant's daughter, and the role of the magic mirror is played by some beggars who comment on her beauty.


title: Snow White

text: Alexander Afanasyev collected a Russian version titled "The Magic Mirror", in which the reason that the heroine has to leave her parents’ house is different than the usual. Instead of being the daughter of a king, she is the daughter of a merchant, who's left with her uncle while her father and brothers travel. During their absence, the heroine’s uncle attempts to assault her, but she frustrates his plans. To get his revenge he writes a letter to the heroine’s father, accusing her of misconduct. Believing what's written in the letter, the merchant sends his son back home to kill his own sister, but the merchant’s son doesn't trust his uncle’s letter, and after discovering what's in the letter are lies, he warns her sister, who escapes and is taken in by two bogatyrs. The elements of the stepmother and the mirror are introduced much later, after the merchant returns home believing his daughter is dead and remarries the woman who owns the titular magic mirror, that tells her that her stepdaughter is still alive and is more beautiful than she is. In another Russian version the heroine is the daughter of a Tsar, and her stepmother decides to kill her after asking three different mirrors and all of them told her her stepdaughters is more beautiful than she is. The dwarfs’ role is fulfilled by twelve brothers cursed to be hawks, living at the top of a glass mountain.


title: Snow White

text: Arthur and Albert Schott collected a Romanian version titled "The Magic Mirror" (; ), in which the villain is the heroine’s biological mother. After the titular mirror tells her that her daughter is prettiest, she takes her to go for a walk in the woods and feeds her extremely salty bread, so her daughter will become so thirsty that she would agree to let her tear out her eyes in exchange for water. Once the daughter is blinded her mother leaves her in the forest, where she manages to restore her eyes and is taken in by twelve thieves. After discovering her daughter is still alive, the mother sends an old woman to the thieves’ house three times. The first she gives the daughter a ring, the second earrings, and the third poisoned flowers. After the heroine marries the prince, she has a child, and the mother goes to the castle pretending to be a midwife to kill both her daughter and the newborn. After killing the infant, she’s stopped before she can kill the heroine.


title: Snow White

text: The Pushkin fairytale The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights bears a striking similarity to the tale of Snow White. However, the Dead Princess befriends 7 knights instead of dwarfs, and it is the Sun and Moon who aid the Prince to the resting place of the Dead Princess, where he breaks with his sword the coffin of the Tsarevna, bringing her back to life.


title: Snow White

text: In a Louisiana tale, "Lé Roi Pan" ("The King Peacock"), a mother has a child who becomes more beautiful than her, so she orders her daughter's nurse to kill her. The daughter resigns to her fate, but the nurse spares her and gives her three seeds. After failing to drown in a well and to be eaten by an ogre, the girl eats a seed and falls into a deep sleep. The ogre family (who took her in after seeing her beauty) put her in a crystal coffin to float down the river. Her coffin is found by the titular King Peacock, who takes the seed from her mouth and awakens her.


title: Snow White

text: Three variants were recorded in Puerto Rico. Two named ""Blanca Nieves"" ("Snow White") and the third ""Blanca Flor"" ("White Flower").


title: Snow White

text: Robert Hamill Nassau collected a tale titled "The Beautiful Daughter" from West Africa, where the heroine's mother tries to kill her, the dwarves are replaced for robbers, and she herself becomes stepmother to a girl who broke her sleeping curse.


title: Snow White

text: In a Swahili tale, "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World", the Sultan's wife has a daughter named Amina. When she asks the Sun and the Moon who is the most beautiful, the luminaries answer that it is Amina. The girl eventually runs away from home and lives with jinns.


title: Snow White

text: Erin Heys' "Religious Symbols" article at the website "Religion & Snow White" analyzes the use of numerous symbols in the story, their implications, and their Christian interpretations, such as the colours red, white, and black; the apple; the number seven; and resurrection.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: Descendants of the Sun () is a 2016 South Korean television series starring Song Joong-ki, Song Hye-kyo, Jin Goo, and Kim Ji-won. It aired on KBS2 from February 24 to April 14, 2016 for 16 episodes. KBS then aired three additional special episodes from April 20 to April 22, 2016 containing highlights and the best scenes from the series, the drama's production process, behind-the-scenes footage, commentaries from cast members and the final epilogue.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: The series was a major hit in South Korea where it drew a peak audience share of 38.8%. It received several awards, such as winning the Grand Prize in television at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards; and was named the Most Popular Show of the year by Korea Broadcasting Advertising Corporation.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: The show was broadcast across Asia where it was hugely popular, and has been credited with a rise in tourism to Korea. Local adaptations have aired in the Philippines and Vietnam, and an adaptation is planned in China. The actors in the show also received international recognition.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: Yoo Si-jin (Song Joong-ki) is the captain of a South Korean Special Forces unit. He and his friend Master Sergeant Seo Dae-young (Jin Goo) are off-duty when they witness a young man stealing a motorcycle and apprehend him. The thief, Kim Gi-bum (Kim Min-seok), is injured during the chase and therefore sent to the hospital. Dae-young realises his cell phone was stolen by the thief and goes to the hospital with Si-jin to retrieve it.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: In the emergency room, Si-jin meets Dr Kang Mo-yeon (Song Hye-kyo) for the first time and is instantly attracted to her. Mo-Yeon mistakenly assumes Si-jin is part of the thief's criminal gang after overhearing Dae-young address him as "Big Boss", which is his call sign. He proves his identity with the help of army surgeon Yoon Myung-Ju (Kim Ji-won) who turns out to be Mo-yeon's former rival from medical school.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: Si-jin and Mo-Yeon begin to date, but due to Si-jin often being called in for duty, their dates are often interrupted halfway. Si-jin receives his orders to be deployed on a peacekeeping mission in the fictional war-torn country of Uruk. Meanwhile, Mo-Yeon is upset because she found out that she had been passed over for a professorship favouring a less-capable colleague who had familial connections to the hospital management. When Si-jin returns and meets Mo-Yeon again, she directly asks him to explain his sudden disappearances and job. Still, he cannot go into too much detail due to the highly classified nature of his assignments. They talk about their views on life and realise how different they are. Si-jin, as a soldier, kills to protect lives while Mo-Yeon, as a doctor, honours the Hippocratic Oath and tries to save lives. Due to their philosophical differences, they agree to part ways. Dae-young, on the other hand, faces a dilemma on whether to continue his relationship with Myung-Ju or risk being forced out of the army for breaking fraternisation rules as he was not a commissioned officer. The fact that Myung-ju was the daughter of his and Si-jin's superior, the commander of the Special Forces, made the situation awkward.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: Eight months later, Mo-Yeon rebuffs the romantic advances of the hospital director and, as a result, is assigned against her will to lead a team of medical volunteers to Uruk as revenge for her turning down the hospital director. In Uruk, Si-jin and Mo-yeon reunite and both gain a deeper insight into one another's jobs as their respective teams endure an earthquake and a viral epidemic, while also dealing with a notorious warlord who was once in the military and fought alongside Si-jin but now takes advantage of the corrupt government of Uruk to make money off human and arms trafficking. While in Uruk, Mo-yeon accidentally confesses her feelings (much to the amusement of their respective teams) and the two officially start dating. She gradually comes to terms with the possibility of him being killed in action and the fact that she may never have full disclosure of his whereabouts. In the meantime, the usually-stoic Dae-young finally works up the nerve to show more affection toward Myung-ju after she nearly dies in quarantine after being infected with the virus.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: Si-jin and Mo-yeon continue their relationship after returning to Korea, until Si-jin and Dae-young are sent on a classified operation in which they disappear and are assumed to be dead. Months pass and Mo-yeon mourns Si-jin's death, thus deciding to commemorate his passing by volunteering with a medical team sent to Albania while Myung-ju was sent on a medical mission in Uruk. This is where Si-jin eventually finds her on the day of their one-year death anniversary while Dae-young went to Uruk to find Myung-ju after reporting that they were alive to the Military Headquarters. After their reunion, Si-jin told Mo-yeon that he and Dae-young were rescued from captivity by "a friend from afar", a soldier from North Korea whom Si-jin had helped before. Si-jin and Mo-yeon, along with Myung-ju and Dae-young, are all happily reunited with each other.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: "Descendants of the Sun" was fully pre-produced before airing which is a departure from the live-shoot production format that characterizes most Korean dramas. The drama is Song Joong-ki's comeback project after serving his two years of mandatory military service. The production cost 13 billion won (approximately $10.8 million) to produce.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: Initially, there were doubts about the profitability of the drama, as a story involving a soldier may not be enough to garner a very high successive rate. This is revealed when SBS were reluctant to continue with the project. It was then passed to KBS. According to local reports by Newsis, lead actor Song Joong-ki was not the first choice of writers and directors for the hit South Korean series, as he was deemed too slender for the role of a heroic special forces officer. Song was later cast as the producers decided to change the character of the role. The 6 June episode of tvN's The List 2016 revealed the names of four actors who rejected the role before Song Joong-ki was chosen. As per the show, the A-listers who passed the role includes Won Bin, Jo In-sung, Gong Yoo, and Kim Woo-bin. Reportedly, the actors were skeptical on sporting the army style short hair. It is also said that the artists expressed slight discomfort on portraying a role of a soldier and could not commit with the pre-production format of the show.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: On June 12, 2015, lead actors Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo filmed their first scene in Seoul. On September 28, 2015, the entire cast and crew (including the four leads, Song Joong-ki, Song Hye-kyo, Jin Goo, Kim Ji-won, as well as supporting actors Kang Shin-il and Onew) departed for Greece. The team resided in the country for approximately a month to shoot episodes crucial to the drama's plot. According to Greek and South Korean news portals and blogs, filming mainly took place in Zakynthos, Arachova, Lemnos, and Navagio. While the series' location was modelled after Iraq, the decision was made to locate the remote area torn by war at the margin of Balkan Peninsula to avoid diplomatic conflict with the Iraqis.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: On November 25, 2015, it was announced that actor Song Joong-ki injured his arm while filming an action scene for the drama on November 23. On December 7, 2015, Song Joong-ki returned to work only 2 weeks after he was injured and spotted filming at a station in Seoul. The MERS-CoV outbreak in South Korea in 2015 also seriously hampered filming schedules. The outbreak claimed the lives of 33 people, according to WHO.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: The location which served as the Mowuru Company's base camp was set at the exhausted Taebaek Hanbo Coal Mine while earthquake scenes were mostly filmed at the Samtan Art Mine. Filming also took place at Camp Greaves DMZ Experience Centre, once a US Army base camp during the Korean War. Filming at Haesung Hospital was actually done at the Seoul St Mary's Hospital.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: The crew wrapped up the last shoot in the early morning of December 30, 2015. The director's cut, which feature a re-edited version of the last and 16th episode, as well as deleted scenes, a music video and behind-the-scenes footage, was released in the second half of the year.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: Due to the success of the drama, an OST concert was held at the Grand Peace Palace at Kyung Hee University in Seoul on May 14, 2016; and featured performers of the drama's soundtrack.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: After the success of "Descendants of the Sun", the industry saw a shift toward pre-production of Korean dramas. This is because pre-production allowed producers to secure investment and distribution in a carefully planned fashion and allowed the show to air simultaneously in China, thus bringing greater profits. Kim Won-seok, co-writer of "Descendants of the Sun", said the system helps raise the quality of the drama. However, apart from "Descendants of the Sun", none of the other pre-produced dramas thus far such as "", "Uncontrollably Fond", and "" have been successful.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: Production company NEW said that there have been hundreds of violations of their publicity rights by businesses, in an attempt to take advantage of the drama's success. The announcement came about when lead actress Song Hye-kyo sued jewelry firm J.Estina for using her pictures for promotion though the contract ended in January. J.Estina said in a press release that it abided by the contract with production staff of "Descendants of the Sun", which allowed it to use stills from the episodes as one of the main sponsors of the series. However, NEW refuted the claims, saying that the jewelry firm's arguments lacked legal grounds. Song Hye-kyo eventually won the legal battle and donated the damages received to charity.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: The soundtrack of the series topped local music charts. Pre-orders for the soundtrack album surpassed the 10,000 mark, and eventually sold over 60,000 copies.


title: Descendants of the Sun

text: "Descendants" received immense popularity both locally, with a peaking rating of 40% in South Korea, as well as internationally, where it has been sold to 32 countries and translated into 32 different languages. The success of the drama helped strengthen the Hallyu wave, boosting tourism and spreading Korean culture. The series was also watched in North Korea, one of the most secluded countries in the world.