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Drusus

(Encyclopedia)Drusus dro͞oˈsəs [key], Roman family of the gens Livius. An early distinguished member was Marcus Livius Drusus, d. 109? b.c., tribune of the people (122) with Caius Sempronius Gracchus (see under ...

Cassius

(Encyclopedia)Cassius kăshˈəs [key], ancient Roman family. There were a number of well-known members. Spurius Cassius Viscellinus, d. c.485 b.c., seems to have been consul several times. In 493 b.c. he negotiate...

Brutus, in ancient Rome

(Encyclopedia)Brutus bro͞oˈtəs [key], in ancient Rome, a surname of the Junian gens. Lucius Junius Brutus, fl. 510 b.c., was the founder of the Roman republic. He feigned idiocy to escape death at the hands of L...

Aurelian

(Encyclopedia)Aurelian (Lucius Domitius Aurelianus) ôrēˈlēən [key], c.212–275, Roman emperor (270–75). Rising in the ranks, he became consul under Valerian. He succeeded Claudius II, whose victory over the...

Manlius

(Encyclopedia)Manlius mănˈlēəs [key], ancient Roman gens, chiefly patrician but later containing plebeian families. Marcus Manlius Capitolinus, d. 384? b.c., consul (392 b.c.), took refuge in the Capitol when R...

Heliogabalus

(Encyclopedia)Heliogabalus ĕləgăbˈələs [key], c.205–222, Roman emperor (218–22). He was a priest of the local sun god, Elagabalus, at Emesa and was named Varius Avitus Bassianus. He was a cousin of Caraca...

essay

(Encyclopedia)essay, relatively short literary composition in prose, in which a writer discusses a topic, usually restricted in scope, or tries to persuade the reader to accept a particular point of view. Although ...

Bentley, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Bentley, Richard, 1662–1742, English critic and philologist. Generally considered the greatest of English classical scholars, he was also an Anglican clergyman who became (1717) Regius Professor of ...

Cayuse

(Encyclopedia)Cayuse kīyo͞osˈ [key], Native North Americans who formerly occupied parts of NE Oregon and SE Washington. They were closely associated with the Nez Percé and spoke a language belonging to the Saha...

Gordian

(Encyclopedia)Gordian gôrˈdēən [key], name of three Roman emperors. Gordian I (Marcus Antonius Gordianus Africanus), d. 238, was a Roman of great wealth and was colleague in the consulship with Caracalla and wi...