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Castelar y Ripoll, Emilio

(Encyclopedia)Castelar y Ripoll, Emilio āmēˈlyō kästālärˈ ē rēpōˈlyə [key], 1832–99, Spanish statesman and author. A professor of history and philosophy at the Univ. of Madrid and a republican leader...

Xingu

(Encyclopedia)Xingu zĭng-go͞oˈ, Port. shēng-go͞oˈ [key], river, 1,230 mi (1,979 km) long, rising in central Mato Grosso state, Brazil, and winding north across Pará state into the Amazon River at the head of...

Atargatis

(Encyclopedia)Atargatis ātärgāˈtĭs [key], ancient Syrian goddess. Of obscure origin, she probably belongs to the general pattern of mother goddesses that were worshiped throughout W Asia and Greece. In Rome sh...

Mysia

(Encyclopedia)Mysia mĭshˈēə [key], ancient region, NW Asia Minor. It was N of Lydia and its coast faced Lesbos. Mysia was not a political unit, and it passed successively to Lydia, Persia, Macedon, Syria, Perga...

Japheth

(Encyclopedia)Japheth jāˈfĕth [key], in the Bible, son of Noah and ancestor of those who were to occupy the isles of the Gentiles. This has been supposed to mean the Mediterranean lands of Europe and Asia Minor....

Galilee, Sea of

(Encyclopedia)Galilee, Sea of, Lake Tiberias kĭnˈərĕtˌ [key], lake, 64 sq mi (166 sq km), 14 mi (23 km) long, and 3 to 7 mi (4.8–11.3 km) wide, NE Israel; its surface is c.700 ft (210 m) below sea level. Th...

Downing, Andrew Jackson

(Encyclopedia)Downing, Andrew Jackson, 1815–52, American horticulturist, rural architect, and landscape gardener, b. Newburgh, N.Y. With his brother Charles Downing, 1802–85, he took over the operation of the n...

Lystra

(Encyclopedia)Lystra lĭsˈtrə [key], ancient city of Lycaonia, S Asia Minor, in present Turkey. The Acts of the Apostles reports that it was visited by Paul and Barnabas. An ancient altar found there mentioned th...

Hamitic languages

(Encyclopedia)Hamitic languages, subfamily of the Hamito-Semitic family of languages, a now-abandoned system of classification for languages of N Africa and SW Asia. The Egyptian, Berber, Cushitic, and (sometimes) ...

Pactolus

(Encyclopedia)Pactolus păktōˈləs [key], small river of ancient Lydia, W central Asia Minor (now Turkey), joining the Hermus (modern Gediz) after passing Sardis. It was famous for the gold washed from its sands,...