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week

(Encyclopedia)week, period of time shorter than the month, commonly seven days. The ancient Egyptians used a 10-day period, as did the French under the short-lived French Revolutionary calendar. In many regions a f...

Eos

(Encyclopedia)Eos ēˈŏs [key], in Greek religion and mythology, goddess of dawn; daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. Every morning she arose early and preceded her brother Helios into the heavens. Her husb...

Flora

(Encyclopedia)Flora, in Roman religion, goddess of flowers and fertility. Her festival, the Floralia, Apr. 28–May 1, was celebrated with great gaiety and licentiousness. ...

Hera

(Encyclopedia)Hera hĭrˈə, hērˈə [key], in Greek religion and mythology, queen of the Olympian gods, daughter of Kronos and Rhea. She was the wife and sister of Zeus and the mother of Ares and Hephaestus. A je...

serpent

(Encyclopedia)serpent, term sometimes used to designate the larger species of snakes in mythology and folklore, a name often applied to any sinuous, crawling creature, chiefly to a snake. No sea serpents have been ...

Liberalia

(Encyclopedia)Liberalia lĭbərāˈlēə [key], in Roman religion, festival of Liber and Libera. The rustic festival of great rejoicing and merrymaking was held on Mar. 17. Roman youths generally first assumed the ...

Murray, Alexander Stuart

(Encyclopedia)Murray, Alexander Stuart, 1841–1904, Scottish archaeologist. He was assistant keeper (1867–86) and keeper (from 1886) of Greek and Roman antiquities at the British Museum. From 1894 to 1896 he was...

Müller, Max

(Encyclopedia)Müller, Max (Friedrich Maximilian Müller, Friedrich Max Müller, or Friedrich Max-Müller) ;frēˈdrĭkh mäkˌsēmēlˈyän [key], 1823–1900, German philologist and Orientalist, b. Dessau; son of...

Helios

(Encyclopedia)Helios hēˈlēŏs [key] [Gr.,=sun], in Greek religion and mythology, the sun god, son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. Each morning he left a palace in the east and crossed the sky in a golden chari...

Star of Bethlehem, in the Gospels

(Encyclopedia)Star of Bethlehem, name given to the luminous celestial object rising in the sky that, as related in the Gospel of Matthew, led the Wise Men of the East to the manger in Bethlehem where Jesus was born...