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Mars, in Roman religion and mythology

(Encyclopedia)Mars, in Roman religion and mythology, god of war. In early Roman times he was a god of agriculture, but in later religion (when he was identified with the Greek Ares) he was primarily associated with...

Bubastis

(Encyclopedia)Bubastis byo͞obăsˈtĭs [key], ancient city, NE Egypt, in the Nile delta, near the modern Zagazig. Capital of Egypt in the XXII and XXIII dynasties, it began to decline after the second Persian conq...

Helen

(Encyclopedia)Helen, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful of women; daughter of Leda and Zeus, and sister of Castor and Pollux and Clytemnestra. While still a young girl Helen was abducted to Attica by Theseus an...

Demeter

(Encyclopedia)Demeter dĭmēˈtər [key], in Greek religion and mythology, goddess of harvest and fertility; daughter of Kronos and Rhea. She was the mother of Persephone by Zeus. When Pluto abducted Persephone, De...

Lagash

(Encyclopedia)Lagash shĭrpo͝orˈlə [key], ancient city of Sumer, S Mesopotamia, now located at Telloh, SE Iraq. Lagash was flourishing by c.2400 b.c., but traces of habitation go back at least to the 4th millenn...

Kali

(Encyclopedia)Kali käˈlē [key] [Hindi,=the Black One], important goddess in popular Hinduism and Tantra. Known also as Durga [the Inaccessible] and as Chandi [the Fierce], Kali is associated with disease, death,...

Kamakura

(Encyclopedia)Kamakura kämäˈko͞orä [key], city (1990 pop. 174,307), Kanagawa prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, on Sagami Bay and at the base of the Miura Peninsula. It is a resort and residential area but is ...

Io, in Greek mythology

(Encyclopedia)Io, in Greek mythology, daughter of Inachus, king ofo Argos. She was loved by Zeus, who, to protect her from Hera's jealousy, changed her into a white heifer. Hera, however, was not deceived; she clai...

Meleager

(Encyclopedia)Meleager mĕlēāˈjər [key], hero in Greek mythology. He was the son of Oeneus, king of Calydon, and Althaea. When Meleager was born, a prophecy said that he would die when a certain log in the fire...

Tammuz

(Encyclopedia)Tammuz täˈməz [key], ancient nature deity worshiped in Babylonia. A god of agriculture and flocks, he personified the creative powers of spring. He was loved by the fertility goddess Ishtar, who, a...