Earthquakes on the subduction interface itself are low-angle thrusts in the depth range 15–45 km, generally reaching a maximum depth of 20 km in the west and 45 km in the centre of the arc, near Crete.

[…] wrinkling his forehead and moving his jaws and throat violently, as if he expected to choke with each gobble.

M. R. James (1904) Ghost Stories of an Antiquary: “Why, did you show him up some rot? No fear, he said.”

Following Max Weber, I define the prebendary state as a regime where those who hold state power live off politics. In addition to their salaries, the rulers and officials of the state benefit from the perquisites of office, either in the form of bribes or outright appropriation of public monies from the various government agencies and state enterprises for private ends (Weber 1968, 86-95, 206-9). […] Under a prebendary regime, a fraction of the middle or dominant class controls the state by allying itself with a supreme ruler or dictator.