Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

liberty, in political science

(Encyclopedia)liberty, term used to describe various types of individual freedom, such as religious liberty, political liberty, freedom of speech, right of self-defense, and others. It is also used as a general ter...

secession, in political science

(Encyclopedia)secession, in political science, formal withdrawal from an association by a group discontented with the actions or decisions of that association. The term is generally used to refer to withdrawal from...

Aristophanes

(Encyclopedia)Aristophanes ărˌĭstŏfˈənēz [key], c.448 b.c.–c.388 b.c., Greek playwright, Athenian comic poet, greatest of the ancient writers of comedy. His plays, the only full extant samples of the Greek...

astrolabe

(Encyclopedia)astrolabe ăsˈtrəlāb [key], instrument probably used originally for measuring the altitudes of heavenly bodies and for determining their positions and movements. Although its origin is ancient and ...

Nicias

(Encyclopedia)Nicias nīˈsēəs, nĭshˈēəs [key], d. 413 b.c., Athenian political leader and general. After Pericles' death he emerged as the primary rival of Cleon and his war party. He was a moderate democrat...

Draco, Athenian politician and law codifier

(Encyclopedia)Draco drāˈkŏn [key], fl. 621 b.c., Athenian politician and law codifier. Of his codification of Athenian customary law only the section dealing with involuntary homicide is preserved. From this and...

Callias, fl. 449 b.c., Athenian statesman

(Encyclopedia)Callias kălˈēəs [key], fl. 449 b.c., Athenian statesman; he was related to Cimon and also to Aristides. He distinguished himself at the battle of Marathon (490 b.c.) and was a three-time winner of...

Pericles

(Encyclopedia)Pericles pĕrˈĭklēz [key], c.495–429 b.c., Athenian statesman. He was a member of the Alcmaeonidae family through his mother, a niece of Cleisthenes. He first came to prominence as an opponent of...

Anacreon

(Encyclopedia)Anacreon ənăkˈrēən, –ŏn [key], c.570–c.485 b.c., Greek lyric poet, b. Teos in Ionia. He lived at Samos and at Athens, where his patron was Hipparchus. His poetry, graceful and elegant, celeb...

Critias

(Encyclopedia)Critias krĭshˈēəs, krĭtēəs [key], c.460–403 b.c., Athenian political leader and writer. A relative of Plato, he was an aristocrat and had early training in philosophy with Socrates and wrote ...