Delos ( / ˈ d iː l ɒ s / ; Greek : Δήλος [ˈðilos] ; Attic Greek : Δῆλος , Doric Greek : Δᾶλος ), is a small Greek island near Mykonos , close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago . Though only 3.43 km (1.32 sq mi) in area, it is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece . The ongoing excavations in the island are among the most extensive in the Mediterranean , and many of the artifacts found are displayed at the Archaeological Museum of Delos and the National Archaeological Museum of Athens .
63-415: Delos had a position as a holy sanctuary for a millennium before Olympian Greek mythology made it the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis . From its Sacred Harbour are visible the three conical mounds that have identified landscapes sacred to a goddess (presumably Athena ). Another site, retaining its Pre-Greek name Mount Cynthus , is crowned with a sanctuary of Zeus . In 1990, UNESCO added Delos to
126-629: A container for keeping something in—in this case holy things or perhaps cherished people ( sanctae / sancti ). The meaning was extended to places of holiness or safety, in particular the whole demarcated area, often many acres, surrounding a Greek or Roman temple ; the original terms for these are temenos in Greek and fanum in Latin, but both may be translated as "sanctuary". Similar usage may be sometimes found describing sacred areas in other religions. In many religious buildings sanctuary has
189-559: A direction later taken by neoplatonism. Iamblichus was also the biographer of the Greek mystic, philosopher, and mathematician Pythagoras . In addition to his philosophical contributions, his Protrepticus is important for the study of the sophists because it preserved about ten pages of an otherwise unknown sophist known as the Anonymus Iamblichi. According to the Suda and Iamblichus' biographer, Eunapius , Iamblichus
252-651: A holy person was buried. Examples are St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and St. Albans Cathedral in England, which commemorate the martyrdom of Saint Peter (the first Pope) and Saint Alban (the first Christian martyr in Britain), respectively. Such locations were also often the sites of religious importance to the community before Christianity arrived. The place and the church built there were considered to have been sanctified (made holy) by what happened there. In modern times,
315-946: A massive resurgence of cases as part of the U.S.-Central American sanctuary movement. This resurgence was part of a broader anti-war movement that emerged to protest U.S. foreign policy in Central America. The movement grew out of the sanctuary practices of political and religious organizations in both the United States and Central America. It was initially sparked by immigrant rights organizations in well-established Central American communities. These organizations first opposed U.S. foreign policy in Central America and then shifted towards aiding an ever-increasing number of Central Americans refugees. Working in tandem, immigrant rights organizations and churches created many new organizations that provided housing and legal services for newly arrived immigrants. These organizations also advocated for
378-405: A monastery all from the first to sixth centuries AD, which, however, does not suggest that the island was continuously inhabited in the period. The pottery found indicates that produce, such as wine and oil, continued to be imported from regional centres. Also, a number of wine presses were found amidst the ruins of the ancient city that date to this period, suggesting that the population at this time
441-462: A place of refuge is ancient, perhaps even primordial, deriving itself from basic features of human altruism . In studying the concept across many cultures and times, anthropologists have found sanctuary to be a highly universal notion, one which appears in almost all major religious traditions and in a variety of diverse geographies. "Cities of refuge" as described by the Book of Numbers and Deuteronomy in
504-582: A possible retrial in Gorbachev 's courts, 25 years after Khrushchev 's courts convicted him in absentia . The concepts of sanctuary and asylum are defined very similarly at their most basic level. Both terms involve the granting of safety or protection from some type of danger, often implied to be a persecuting, oppressive power. The divergence between these terms stems primarily from their societal associations and legal standing; while asylum understood in its political sense implies legally-binding protection on
567-704: A separate soul, Iamblichus re-affirmed the soul's embodiment in matter and believed that matter was as divine as the rest of the cosmos. Iamblichus placed the Monad at the head of his system, from which emanates the Nous (intellect, or demiurge ) and the psyche . Plotinus represented the Nous as three stages: objective being, subjective life, and realized intellect. Iamblichus divided them into two spheres: intelligible (the objects of thought) and intellective (the domain of thought). Iamblichus and Proclus may have introduced
630-812: A shelter from danger or hardship, sanctuary can mean one of the following: The term "sanctuary" has further come to be applied to any space set aside for private use in which others are not supposed to intrude, such as a " man cave ". An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and be protected for the rest of their lives. Unlike animal shelters, sanctuaries do not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, instead maintaining each animal until its natural death. Plant sanctuaries are areas set aside to maintain functioning natural ecosystems, to act as refuges for species and to maintain ecological processes that cannot survive in most intensely managed landscapes and seascapes. Protected areas act as benchmarks against which we understand human interactions with
693-444: A sovereign authority for asylum. Many ancient peoples recognized a religious right of asylum, protecting those accused of a crime from legal action and from exile to some extent. This principle was adopted by the early Christian church, and various rules developed for what the person had to do to qualify for protection and just how much protection it was. Based on an account by Gregory of Tours in late 6th century France, sanctuary
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#1732765424997756-509: A specific meaning, covering part of the interior. In many Western Christian traditions including Catholic, Lutheran , Methodist , and Anglican churches, the area around the altar is called the sanctuary; it is also considered holy because of the belief in the physical presence of God in the Eucharist , both during the Mass and in the church tabernacle at other times. In many churches
819-745: A third sphere between the two worlds, separating and uniting them. The identification of nous with the demiurge in the neoplatonic tradition was adopted and developed in Christian gnosticism . Augustine of Hippo follows Plotinus, identifying the nous with logos (the creative principle) as part of the Trinity . Iamblichus multiplied the number of divine entities according to universal mathematical theorems. He conceived of gods, angels, demons and heroes: twelve heavenly gods (whose number increases to 36 or 360), 72 other gods proceeding from them, 21 chiefs and 42 nature-gods. His divine realm extends from
882-440: Is a sacred place , such as a shrine . By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a safe place for people, such as a political sanctuary; and non-human sanctuary, such as an animal or plant sanctuary. Sanctuary is a word derived from the Latin sanctuarium , which is, like most words ending in -arium ,
945-483: Is a raised bimah in the sanctuary, from which services are conducted, which is where the ark holding the Torah may reside; some synagogues, however, have a separate bimah and ark-platform. In Europe, Christian churches were sometimes built on land considered to be a particularly holy spot. Often these there were legends associated with these locations regarding miracles or martyrdom believed to have taken place or where
1008-442: Is already overloaded with cases—a 2014 study of the system showed that about 250 asylum officers at any one time are tasked with interviewing an average of 28,000 asylum seekers. These sanctuary-based organizations also engage in larger-scale advocacy work that allows them to reach immigrant populations beyond the communities they work in. According to a study done by the "New Sanctuary Movement" organization, at least 600,000 people in
1071-575: Is happy, light-hearted, and enjoying himself. Iamblichus writes that Delos Mysteries (similar to the Eleusinian Mysteries ) were established. Strabo writes that in 166 BC, the Romans converted Delos into a free port, which was partially motivated by seeking to damage the trade of Rhodes , at the time the target of Roman hostility. In 167 or 166 BC, after the Roman victory in
1134-558: Is still observed in the modern era, it no longer has any legal effect and is respected solely for the sake of tradition. The term 'sanctuary' is also used to denote the part of the church which contains the main, or "high altar". Immunity to arrest afforded by a sovereign authority. The United Nations has expanded the definition of "political" to include race, nationality, religion, political opinions and membership or participation in any particular social group or social activities. People seeking political sanctuary typically do so by asking
1197-585: Is their legal and advocacy work. By providing legal representation to asylum seekers who may not be able to afford it, these organizations give their clients a better chance of winning their respective cases. As of 2008, detained asylum seekers with legal representation were six times more likely to win their cases for asylum, and non-detained asylum seekers with representation were almost three times more likely to win asylum compared with those without it. The pro bono legal services provided by these organizations also work to alleviate stress on an adjudication system that
1260-570: The Catholic Church has continued this practice by placing in the altar of each church, when it is consecrated for use, a box ( the sepulcrum ) containing relics of one or more saints, usually martyrs. This relic box is removed when the church is deconsecrated as a holy space. In the Eastern Orthodox Church , the antimension on the altar serves a similar function. It is a cloth icon of Christ's body taken down from
1323-400: The Eastern Orthodox Church , Eastern Catholic Churches of Syro-Malabar Church , Byzantine rite and Coptic Orthodox Churches , the sanctuary is separated from the nave (where worshippers pray) by an iconostasis , literally a wall of icons , with three doors in it. In other Oriental Orthodox traditions, a sanctuary curtain is used. The terminology that applies the word sanctuary to
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#17327654249971386-758: The Russian Revolution because of his abuses of power and forced to abdicate in March in favor of Alexander Kerensky 's Russian Provisional Government . Nicholas and his family and remaining household were sent to Tobolsk , Siberia that summer while Kerensky kept Russia in the war when it couldn't win, enabling Lenin and his Bolsheviks to gain the Russian people's support in overthrowing Kerensky in that year's October Revolution . The Russian Civil War started that November and in July, 1918, with Lenin losing
1449-839: The Third Macedonian War , the Roman Republic ceded Delos to the Athenians , who expelled most of the original inhabitants. Roman traders came to purchase tens of thousands of slaves captured by the Cilician pirates or captured in the wars following the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire . It became the center of the slave trade, with the largest slave market in the larger region being maintained here. The Roman destruction of Corinth in 146 BC allowed Delos to at least partially assume Corinth's role as
1512-470: The World Heritage List , citing its exceptional archaeological site which "conveys the image of a great cosmopolitan Mediterranean port", its influence on the development of Greek architecture, and its sacred importance throughout Ancient Greece . Investigation of ancient stone huts found on the island indicate that it has been inhabited since the third millennium BC. Thucydides claims that
1575-483: The gods Dionysus and Leto , mother of the twin deities Apollo and Artemis, were revered. Eventually acquiring Panhellenic religious significance, Delos was initially a religious pilgrimage for the Ionians . A number of " purifications " were performed by the city-state of Athens in an attempt to render the island fit for the proper worship of the gods. The first took place in the sixth century BC, directed by
1638-506: The 1980s, Estonian national and alleged Nazi war criminal , Karl Linnas , was the target of several sanctuary denials outside the United States before he was finally returned in 1987 to the then- USSR to face a highly likely death penalty for alleged war crimes that he was convicted of in 1962 (see Holocaust trials in Soviet Estonia ). Linnas died of a heart attack in a Leningrad prison hospital on July 2, 1987, while waiting for
1701-559: The Monad to material nature, where the soul descends into matter and becomes embodied in human form. These superhuman beings influence natural events and communicate knowledge about the future, and are accessible with prayers and offerings. Iamblichus posited that numbers are independent, occupying a middle realm between the limited and unlimited. He believed that nature was bound by fate , differing from divine things which are not subject to fate and turn evil and imperfection to good ends; evil
1764-658: The Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians . He returned to Coele Syria around 304 to found a school in Apamea (near Antioch ), a city known for its neoplatonic philosophers. Iamblichus designed a curriculum for studying Plato and Aristotle , and wrote commentaries on the two which survive only in fragments. Pythagoras was his supreme authority, and he wrote the ten-volume Collection of Pythagorean Doctrines with extracts from several ancient philosophers; only
1827-577: The Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians , also known as The Theurgia . Although stylistic and doctrinal differences exist between this book and Iamblichus' other works, it originated from his school at least. Iamblichus also completed a coherent polytheist theological system under the Egyptian pseudonym Abammon . Iamblichus was praised by his followers, and contemporaries credited him with miraculous powers. The Roman emperor Julian , not content with Eunapius' modest eulogy that Iamblichus
1890-710: The Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Australia and Canada, among other nations. In 2007, Iranian refugee Shahla Valadi was granted asylum in Norway after spending seven years in church sanctuary after the initial denial of asylum. From 1983 to 2003 Canada experienced 36 sanctuary incidents. In 2016, an Icelandic church declared that they would harbor two failed asylum seekers who violated the Dublin Regulation, and police removed them for deportation, as ecclesiastical immunity has no legal standing. When referring to
1953-677: The Old Testament, as well as the Bedouin idea of nazaala , or the "taking of refuge", indicate a strong tradition of sanctuary in the Middle East and Northern Africa. In the Americas, many native tribes shared similar practices, particularly in the face of invading European powers. Despite tensions between groups, many tribes still offered and received sanctuary, taking in those who had fled their tribal lands or feared persecution by
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2016-461: The Spanish, English, and French. Some (but not all) temples offered sanctuary to criminals or runaway slaves. When referring to prosecution of crimes, sanctuary can mean one of the following: A sacred place, such as a church, in which fugitives formerly were immune to arrest (recognized by English law from the fourth to the seventeenth century). While the practice of churches offering sanctuary
2079-508: The United States have at least one family member in danger of deportation. Legislative and judicial advocacy work at the regional and even national level allows organizations to support this group of people by influencing policy. From the 1980s continuing into the 2000s, there also have been instances of immigrant rights organizations and churches providing "sanctuary" for short periods to migrants facing deportation in Germany, France, Belgium,
2142-474: The United States permanently after announcing that he didn't want to return with his parents to what was then Soviet Ukraine , and was the subject of a five-year struggle between U.S. and Soviet courts over his fate, which was decided in his favor in 1985 when Walter turned 18 that October 3 and was no longer a juvenile and thus no longer required to return to the Soviet Union if he didn't want to. Also in
2205-408: The architectural term chancel covers the same area as the sanctuary, and either term may be used. In some Protestant churches, the term sanctuary denotes the entire worship space while the term chancel refers only to the area around the communion table . In many Western traditions, altar rails and sometimes steps would demarcate the sanctuary or chancel from the rest of the building. In
2268-541: The area around the altar does not apply to Christian churches alone: King Solomon 's temple, built in about 950 BC, had a sanctuary (" Holy of Holies ") where the Ark of the Covenant was, and the term applies to the corresponding part of any house of worship. In most modern synagogues , the main room for prayer is known as the sanctuary, to contrast it with smaller rooms dedicated to various other services and functions. There
2331-762: The civil war, Nicholas and his family were executed on Lenin's orders while confined to the Ipatiev House in Yekaterenburg . In 1939, months before World War II began, 937 Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany on board the MS St. Louis met the same fate, first by Cuba —their original destination—and afterwards by the United States and Canada . As a result, 620 of them were forced back to Europe, where many of them died in Nazi concentration camps during
2394-440: The comforts of home; she brought so much furniture and so many chests that the workmen had to break holes in some of the walls to move everything in fast enough to suit her. In the 20th century, during World War I , all of Russia 's Allies made the controversial decision in 1917 to deny political sanctuary to Tsar Nicholas II Romanov and his immediate family when he was overthrown in that year's February Revolution part of
2457-408: The cooperation of local and regional governments with the national government's efforts to enforce immigration law. In recognition of their progressiveness and boldness in the face of perceived injustice, "Sanctuary bills" are commonly referred to as "activist law". For the last few centuries, it has become less common to invoke sanctuary as a means of protecting persecuted peoples. Yet, the 1980s saw
2520-411: The creation of sanctuary spaces for those fleeing war and oppression in their home countries. By 1987, 440 cities in the United States had been declared "sanctuary cities" open to migrants from civil wars in Central America. The immigrant-religious organization partnerships of the sanctuary movement remain active, providing essential services to immigrant populations. Particularly notable in recent years
2583-442: The cross, and typically has the relics of a saint sewn into it. In addition, it is signed by the parish's bishop , and represents his authorization and blessing for the Eucharist to be celebrated on that altar. Although the word "sanctuary" is often traced back only as far as the Greek and Roman empires, the concept itself has likely been part of human cultures for thousands of years. The idea that persecuted persons should be given
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2646-419: The east, and as a cult centre, too, it entered a sharp decline. Despite its decline, Delos maintained some population in the early Roman Imperial period. Pausanias (8,33,2), writing in the second century AD, states that Delos was uninhabited apart from a few custodians of the sanctuaries. Evidence has been found of Roman baths, coins, an aqueduct, residential and elite houses, multiple churches, basilicas, and
2709-411: The existing policy. Though these attempts to provide sanctuary have no legal standing, they can be effective in catalyzing change at community, local, and even regional levels. Sanctuary can also be integrated into these levels of government through "Sanctuary bills", which designate cities and sometimes states as safe spaces for immigrants deemed illegal by the federal government. These bills work to limit
2772-830: The first four volumes and fragments of the fifth survive. Iamblichus wrote the Exhortation to Philosophy in Apamea during the early fourth century. Considered a man of great culture and learning, he was renowned for his charity and self-denial and had a number of students. According to Johann Albert Fabricius , he died sometime before 333 during the reign of Constantine the Great . Iamblichus detailed Plotinus ' neoplatonic formal divisions, applied Pythagorean number symbolism more systematically, and (influenced by other Asian systems) interpreted neoplatonic concepts mythically. Unlike Plotinus, who broke from platonic tradition by positing
2835-536: The island became the natural meeting ground for the Delian League , founded in 478 BC, the congresses being held in the temple (a separate quarter was reserved for foreigners and the sanctuaries of foreign deities ). The league's common treasury was kept here as well until 454 BC, when Pericles removed it to Athens. During the Hellenistic period , a well-established Phoenician colony on
2898-563: The island due to its sacred importance, and to preserve its neutrality in commerce since no one could then claim ownership through inheritance. Immediately after this purification, the first quinquennial festival of the Delian games were celebrated there. Four years later, all inhabitants of the island were removed to Adramyttium in Asia as a further purification. After the Persian Wars ,
2961-505: The island had extensive trade relations. The island had no productive capacity for food , fiber , or timber , which were all imported. Limited water was exploited with an extensive cistern and aqueduct system, wells , and sanitary drains . Various regions operated agorae (markets). Suda writes that the Greeks used the proverb "ᾌδεις ὥσπερ εἰς Δῆλον πλέων", meaning you sing as if sailing into Delos in reference to someone who
3024-403: The natural world. Iamblichus Iamblichus ( / aɪ ˈ æ m b l ɪ k ə s / eye- AM -blik-əs ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ἰάμβλιχος , translit. Iámblichos ; Arabic : يَمْلِكُ, romanized: Yamlīkū; Aramaic : 𐡉𐡌𐡋𐡊𐡅 , romanized: Yamlīkū ; c. 245 – c. 325 ) was a Syrian neoplatonic philosopher . He determined
3087-472: The original inhabitants were piratical Carians who were eventually expelled by King Minos of Crete . By the writing of the Odyssey , the island was already famous as the birthplace of the twin gods Apollo and Artemis (although some confusion seems to exist of Artemis' birthplace being either Delos or the island of Ortygia ). Between 900 BC and 100 AD, Delos was a major cult centre, where
3150-470: The part of a state entity, sanctuary often takes the form of moral and ethical activism that calls into question decisions made by the institutions in power. In many instances, the sanctuary is not incorporated into the law but operated in defiance of it. Efforts to create a sanctuary for the persecuted or oppressed are often undertaken by organizations, religious or otherwise, who work outside of mainstream avenues to ameliorate what they see as deficiencies in
3213-481: The premier trading center of Greece , but Delos' commercial prosperity, construction activity, and population waned significantly after the island was assaulted by the forces of Mithridates VI of Pontus in 88 and 69 BC, during the Mithridatic Wars with Rome. Before the end of the first century BC, trade routes had changed; Delos was replaced by Puteoli as the chief focus of Italian trade with
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#17327654249973276-593: The sanctuary: churches licensed by the king had a broader version, while other churches had a lower level. The medieval system of asylum was finally abolished entirely in England by James I in 1623. During the Wars of the Roses of the 15th century when the Lancastrians or Yorkists would suddenly gain the upper hand by winning a battle, some adherents of the losing side might find themselves surrounded by adherents of
3339-543: The tyrant Pisistratus , who ordered that all graves within sight of the temple be dug up and the bodies moved to another nearby island. In the fifth century BC, during the sixth year of the Peloponnesian War and under instruction from the Delphic Oracle , the entire island was purged of all dead bodies. A new decree was eventually issued, so that no one should be allowed to be buried or give birth on
3402-519: The war. This incident was the subject of Gordon Thomas' and Max Morgan-Witts ' 1974 novel, Voyage of the Damned and its 1976 movie adaptation. In 1970, Simonas Kudirka was denied U.S. sanctuary when he attempted to defect from the then-Soviet Union by jumping from his "mother ship", 'Sovetskaya Litva', onto the USCGC Vigilant when it was sailing from New Bedford while Kudirka's ship
3465-522: The winning side and unable to return to their own side, so they would rush to sanctuary at the nearest church until it was safe to leave it. A prime example is Queen Elizabeth Woodville , consort of Edward IV of England . In 1470, when the Lancastrians briefly restored Henry VI to the throne, Edward's queen was living in London with several young daughters. She moved with them into Westminster Abbey for sanctuary, living there in royal comfort until Edward
3528-525: Was already practiced, but was not all the time respected. In England, King Æthelberht made the first laws regulating sanctuary in about AD 600, though Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136) says that the legendary pre-Saxon king Dunvallo Molmutius (4th/5th century BC) enacted sanctuary laws in the Molmutine Laws as recorded by Gildas (c. 500–570). By Norman times, there had come to be two kinds of
3591-428: Was anchored at Martha's Vineyard . Kudrika was accused of stealing 3,000 roubles from Sovetskaya Litva's safe and when the U.S. State Department didn't help him, Kudrika was sent back to the Soviet Union, where he was convicted of treason and sentenced to ten years of hard labor but because Kudirka could claim American citizenship through his mother, he was allowed to return to the United States in 1974. His plight
3654-607: Was born in Chalcis (later called Qinnašrīn ) in Coele , now in northwest Syria . Iamblichus was descended from the Emesene dynasty . He initially studied under Anatolius of Laodicea and later studied under Porphyry , a pupil of Plotinus (the founder of neoplatonism). Iamblichus disagreed with Porphyry about theurgy , reportedly responding to Porphyry's criticism of the practice in On
3717-408: Was engaged in considerable viticultural endeavour. Delos was eventually abandoned around the eighth century AD. The 2001 Greek census reported a population of 14 inhabitants on the island. The island is administratively a part of the municipality of Mýkonos. According to more recent numbers, in 2011 the island counted 24 inhabitants. Sanctuary A sanctuary , in its original meaning,
3780-453: Was generated accidentally in the conflict between the finite and the infinite . Only a fraction of Iamblichus' books have survived; knowledge of his system is preserved in fragments of writings preserved by Stobaeus and others: notes by his successors (especially Proclus ), his five extant books and sections of his work on Pythagoreanism . In addition to these, Proclus attributed to him the On
3843-528: Was inferior to Porphyry only in style, regarded him as second only to Plato and said that he would give all the gold in Lydia for one of his letters. During the 15th- and 16th-century revival of interest in his philosophy, Iamblichus' name was rarely mentioned without the epithet "divine" or "most divine". [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Sorley, William Ritchie (1911). " Iamblichus,
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#17327654249973906-455: Was restored to the throne in 1471 and giving birth to their first son Edward during that time. When King Edward IV died in 1483, Elizabeth (who was highly unpopular with even the Yorkists and probably did need protection) took her five daughters and youngest son (Richard, Duke of York; Prince Edward had his own household by then) and again moved into sanctuary at Westminster Abbey. She had all
3969-583: Was the subject of Algis Ruksenas' 1973 book Day of Shame: The Truth About The Murderous Happenings Aboard the Cutter Vigilant During the Russian-American Confrontation off Martha's Vineyard and the 1978 TV movie The Defection of Simas Kudirka , starring Alan Arkin . Ten years later, Ukrainian youth, Walter Polovchak , became a cause célèbre in the 1980s because of his request in 1980 at age 12 to remain in
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