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Manichaeism

(Encyclopedia)Manichaeism mănĭkēˈənĭzəm [key], religion founded by Mani (c.216–c.276). Several Christian emperors, including Justinian, published edicts against the Manichees. St. Augustine, in his yout...

Diophantus

(Encyclopedia)Diophantus dīəfănˈtəs [key], fl. a.d. 250, Greek algebraist. He pioneered in solving a type of indeterminate algebraic equation where one seeks integer values for the unknowns; work in this field...

Eurynome

(Encyclopedia)Eurynome yo͞orĭnˈəmē [key], in Greek mythology, daughter of Oceanus and Tethys and mother, by Zeus, of the Graces. In the mythology of the Pelasgians, an aboriginal non-Greek people living in Gre...

Heliodorus of Emesa

(Encyclopedia)Heliodorus of Emesa ĕmˈəsə [key], fl. 3d cent., Syrian Greek writer. He wrote the romance Aethiopica, one of the oldest and best of surviving Greek romances. Little is known of his life except tha...

Hermetic books

(Encyclopedia)Hermetic books, ancient metaphysical works dealing essentially with the idea of the complete community of all beings and objects. Authorship of the books was attributed to the Egyptian god of wisdom, ...

Herodes Atticus

(Encyclopedia)Herodes Atticus (Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes) ătˈĭkəs [key], c.101–c.177, Greek Sophist, rhetorician, and patron of learning, b. Marathon. A great public benefactor, he used his fortune to...

Gorgon

(Encyclopedia)Gorgon gôrˈgən [key], in Greek mythology, one of three monstrous sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa; daughters of Ceto and Phorcus. Their hair was a cluster of writhing snakes, and their faces we...

Póros

(Encyclopedia)Póros pôˈrôs [key], anc. Greek Calauria, island (1991 pop. 3,570), c.8 sq mi (20 sq km), SE Greece, in the Aegean Sea near the Argolis peninsula of the Peloponnesus. It is famous for its fine marb...

Porson, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Porson, Richard, 1759–1808, English classical scholar, b. Norfolk. A poor boy, he showed such astonishing powers of memory that patrons sent him through Eton and Cambridge. He was appointed regius p...

Aelian

(Encyclopedia)Aelian ēˈlēən [key], fl. 2d cent. a.d., Greek rhetorician, b. Praenesta; his original name was Claudius Aelianus. He taught rhetoric in Rome c.220. His works, all in Greek, include Historical Misc...