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pigeon

(Encyclopedia)pigeon, common name for members of the large family Columbidae, land birds, cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical regions, characterized by stout bodies, short necks, small heads, and thick, heavy pl...

Liberalia

(Encyclopedia)Liberalia lĭbərāˈlēə [key], in Roman religion, festival of Liber and Libera. The rustic festival of great rejoicing and merrymaking was held on Mar. 17. Roman youths generally first assumed the ...

Frigg

(Encyclopedia)Frigg or Frigga, Norse mother goddess and the wife of Odin (Woden). One of the most important goddesses of Germanic religion, she was queen of the heavens, a deity of love and the household. She was o...

Doddridge, Philip

(Encyclopedia)Doddridge, Philip, 1702–51, English nonconformist minister and noted hymn writer. His Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul (1745) has been much translated. His many hymns include “Awake, My S...

Ate

(Encyclopedia)Ate āˈtē [key], in Greek mythology, personification of the rash temper that leads men to folly and misfortune. She was the daughter of Zeus, who, angered by her mischief, cast her from Olympus. In ...

Selene

(Encyclopedia)Selene səlēˈnē [key], in Greek mythology and mythology, moon goddess; daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia and sister of the sun god Helios. There was no known moon cult among the Greeks, but...

Tyrtaeus

(Encyclopedia)Tyrtaeus tərtēˈəs [key], fl. 7th cent. b.c. at Sparta, Greek elegiac poet. Fragments of his martial elegies in Dorian Greek, which were written to spur Spartan soldiers to victory, are extant. An ...

Cyprus

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Cyprus sīˈprəs [key], Gr. Kypros, Turk. Kıbrıs, officially Republic of Cyprus...

Murray, Alexander Stuart

(Encyclopedia)Murray, Alexander Stuart, 1841–1904, Scottish archaeologist. He was assistant keeper (1867–86) and keeper (from 1886) of Greek and Roman antiquities at the British Museum. From 1894 to 1896 he was...

Dexippus

(Encyclopedia)Dexippus (Publius Herennius Dexippus) dĕksĭpˈəs [key], fl. 253–276, Greek historian of the Roman period. He commanded Greek troops in an unsuccessful attempt to halt a Gothic invasion in 262. Hi...