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Apollonius Rhodius

(Encyclopedia)Apollonius Rhodius rōˈdēəs [key], fl. 3d cent. b.c., epic poet of Alexandria and Rhodes. He became librarian at Alexandria. His extant work, the Argonautica, is a Homeric imitation in four books o...

Naucratis

(Encyclopedia)Naucratis nŏkˈrətĭs [key], ancient city of Egypt, on the Canopic branch of the Nile, 45 mi (72 km) SE of Alexandria. It was probably given (7th cent. b.c.) by Psamtik to Greek colonists from Milet...

patriarch, in Christian churches

(Encyclopedia)patriarch, in Christian churches, title of certain exalted bishops, implying authority over a number of other bishops. There were originally three patriarchates: the West, held by the bishop of Rome (...

Origen

(Encyclopedia)Origen ôrˈĭjĭn [key], 185?–254?, Christian philosopher and scholar. His full name was Origines Adamantius, and he was born in Egypt, probably in Alexandria. When he was quite young, his father w...

Appian

(Encyclopedia)Appian ăpˈēən [key], fl. 2d cent., Roman historian. He was a Greek, born in Alexandria. He held various offices in Alexandria, was an advocate in Rome, and then imperial procurator in Egypt. His h...

Tawadros II

(Encyclopedia)Tawadros II, 1963–, pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church (see Copts), 2012–; successor of Shenouda III. Born Wagih Sobhy Baky Soliman, he studied pharmacy at Alexandria Univ. (grad. 1975), then ente...

geranium

(Encyclopedia)geranium, common name for some members of the Geraniaceae, a family of herbs and small shrubs of temperate and subtropical regions. Their long, beak-shaped fruits give them the popular names crane's-b...

Bassani, Giorgio

(Encyclopedia)Bassani, Giorgio jôrˈjō bäsäˈnê [key], 1916–2000, Italian novelist. The recurrent background for his complex, analytic narratives about Jewish bourgeois life in Italy was the growth of fascis...

egret

(Encyclopedia)egret ēgrĕtˈ [key], common name for several species of herons of the Old and New Worlds, belonging to the family Ardeidae. Before they were protected by law the birds were nearly exterminated by hu...

Dionysius Thrax

(Encyclopedia)Dionysius Thrax [Lat.,=the Thracian], c.170–c.90 b.c., Greek grammarian of Alexandria. His Art of Grammar remained a standard work for centuries and was a model for subsequent grammars. ...