Imperial cult of ancient Rome cult was the burial and the memorials which any respectable Greek family gave their dead, but paid for by their City in perpetuity. Most heroes were the figures of ancient legend, but some were historical: the Athenians revered Harmodius and Aristogeiton as heroes, as saviours of Athens from tyranny; also, collectively, those who fell at the Battle of Marathon. Statesmen did not generally become heroes, but Sophocles was the hero Dexion ("the Receiver") – not as a playwright, nor a general, but because when the Athenians took Asclepius' cult during the Peloponnesian War, Sophocles housed an image of Asclepius until
Athens News Agency English (since 1992). The ANA employs about 250 persons, of which 180 are journalists, and has offices in Brussels, Istanbul, Nicosia and Berlin and correspondents in Washington, New York, Montreal, Melbourne, London, Paris, Vienna, Rome, Belgrade, Skopje etc. ANA's General Director is Ilias Matsikas, a former senior editor with the Athens mass daily "Ta Nea". The managing director is noted Greek journalist and international political analyst Nicolas Voulelis, while the Special English Service (wire service) and the electronic "Daily Bulletin" is headed by H.K. (Harry) Tzanis, a University of Houston journalism school graduate. Athens News Agency The Athens News Agency