(Encyclopedia) Voiture, VincentVoiture, VincentvăNsäNˈ vwätürˈ [key], 1597–1648, French man of letters and poet. He wrote in the precious manner of the salon of the Hôtel de Rambouillet, in which he…
(Encyclopedia) PriapusPriapusprīāˈpəs [key], in Greek religion, fertility god of gardens and herds; son of Aphrodite and Dionysus. He was represented as a grotesque little man with an enormous…
(Encyclopedia) existentialismexistentialismĕgzĭstĕnˈshəlĭzəm, ĕksĭ– [key], any of several philosophic systems, all centered on the individual and his relationship to the universe or to God. Important…
(Encyclopedia) Booker Prize, an award of £50,000 (originally £5,000) for the best novel of the year published in English in Great Britain; prior to 2014, it was only given to a British, Irish, or…
(Encyclopedia) Neandertal or NeanderthalNeanderthalnāänˈdərtälˌ [key], small valley, W Germany, E of Düsseldorf. In 1856 remains of Neanderthal man were discovered there.
(Encyclopedia) Stymphalian birdsStymphalian birdsstĭmfāˈlēən [key], in Greek mythology, dangerous man-eating birds that infested the woods around Lake Stymphalus in Arcadia. As his fifth labor,…
(Encyclopedia) SourisSouriss&oobreve;rˈĭs [key], river, c.450 mi (720 km) long, rising in S Sask., Canada, and flowing southeast with a great loop into N.Dak. (passing Minot), then N and NE to…
(Encyclopedia) CecropsCecropssēˈkrŏps [key], in Greek mythology, founder and first king of Athens. A primeval being, he was half man and half serpent. As a maker of laws, he abolished human sacrifice…