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Piedras Negras, ancient city, Guatemala

(Encyclopedia)Piedras Negras pyāˈᵺräs nāˈgräs [key] [Span.,=black stones], ruined city of the Classic era of the Maya, NW Petén, Guatemala, in the Usumacinta valley. Reaching a peak of sculptural achieveme...

Thebes , city of ancient Egypt

(Encyclopedia)Thebes thēbz [key], city of ancient Egypt. Luxor and Karnak now occupy parts of its site. The city developed at a very early date from a number of small villages, particularly one around modern Luxor...

Thebes , city of ancient Greece

(Encyclopedia)Thebes, chief city of Boeotia, in ancient Greece. It was originally a Mycenaean city. Thebes is rich in associations with Greek legend and religion (see Oedipus; the Seven against Thebes; Epigoni). So...

Raphia, ancient town, Gaza Strip

(Encyclopedia)Raphia: see Rafa.

Veneti, people of ancient Gaul

(Encyclopedia)Veneti vĕnˈətī [key], Celtic people of ancient Gaul, who inhabited an area of NW France, now in Morbihan dept. Forming the most important of the Gallic maritime states, they rebelled in 57 b.c. ag...

Veneti, people of ancient Italy

(Encyclopedia)Veneti, people of ancient Italy. They occupied the shore of the Adriatic from Trieste to the mouth of the Po River and spoke an Illyrian language. Friendly toward Rome, they came under Roman rule in t...

Tekoa

(Encyclopedia)Tekoa or Tekoah both: tēkōˈə [key], ancient town, S ancient Palestine, S of Bethlehem. It is on the edge of a desolate country; to the east the land drops off precipitously to the Dead Sea. It is ...

Elam

(Encyclopedia)Elam ēˈləm [key], ancient country of Asia, N of the Persian Gulf and E of the Tigris, now in W Iran. A civilization seems to have been established there very early, probably in the late 4th millenn...

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...

Drangiana

(Encyclopedia)Drangiana drănˌjēāˈnə, –ănˈə [key], ancient country, part of the Persian Empire, between Aria on the north and Gedrosia on the south. It was conquered (330 b.c.) by Alexander the Great and ...