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Egypt

(Encyclopedia)CE5 CE5 Egypt ēˈjĭpt [key], Arab. Misr, biblical Mizraim, officially Arab Republic o...

Kaaba

(Encyclopedia)Kaaba or Caaba both: käˈbə or käˈəbə [key] [Arab.,=cube], the central, cubic, stone structure, covered by a black cloth, within the Great Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The sacred nature of the...

Mithra

(Encyclopedia)Mithra mĭthˈrə [key], ancient god of Persia and India (where he was called Mitra). Until the 6th cent. b.c., Mithra was apparently a minor figure in the Zoroastrian system. Under the Achaemenids, M...

Lucretius

(Encyclopedia)Lucretius (Titus Lucretius Carus) lo͞okrēˈshəs [key], c.99 b.c.–c.55 b.c., Roman poet and philosopher. Little is known about his life. A chronicle of St. Jerome speaks of the loss of his reason ...

Vishnu

(Encyclopedia)Vishnu vĭshˈno͞o [key], one of the greatest gods of Hinduism, also called Narayana. First mentioned in the Veda as a minor deity, his theistic cults, known as Vaishnavism, or Vishnuism, grew steadi...

Trinity , doctrine in Christianity

(Encyclopedia)Trinity [Lat.,=threefoldness], fundamental doctrine in Christianity, by which God is considered as existing in three persons. While the doctrine is not explicitly taught in the New Testament, early Ch...

Diodorus Siculus

(Encyclopedia)Diodorus Siculus dīədôrˈəs sĭkˈyo͞oləs [key], d. after 21 b.c., Sicilian historian. He wrote, in Greek, a world history in 40 books, ending with Caesar's Gallic Wars. Fully preserved are Book...

Frankfort, Henri

(Encyclopedia)Frankfort, Henri äNrēˈ [key], 1897–1954, American archaeologist, b. the Netherlands. He directed the excavations of the Egypt Exploration Society (1925–29) and the Iraq expeditions (1929–37) ...

Johnson, Sargent

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Sargent, 1888–1967, American sculptor, b. Boston. He moved to N California at age 18 and studied stulpture there. A member of California's New Negro Movement, Johnson was influenced by West...

Berenice, c.280–46 b.c., queen-consort of ancient Syria

(Encyclopedia)Berenice, c.280–46 b.c., queen-consort of ancient Syria; wife of Antiochus II. She was called Berenice Syra. She was the daughter of Ptolemy II, and her marriage (252) to Antiochus II marked a tempo...