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Virgin, The

(Encyclopedia)Virgin, The, English name for Virgo, a constellation. ...

Owl and the Nightingale, The

(Encyclopedia)Owl and the Nightingale, The, Middle English poem written probably by Nicholas de Guildford of Dorsetshire about the beginning of the 13th cent. Written in 2,000 lines of octosyllabic couplets, it des...

Euphranor

(Encyclopedia)Euphranor yo͞ofrāˈnər [key], fl. 364 b.c., Greek painter and sculptor from Corinth. His most famous paintings were in the Stoa of Zeus at Athens—A Cavalry Charge between the Athenians and Boeoti...

Myron

(Encyclopedia)Myron mīˈrən [key], fl. 5th cent. b.c., Greek sculptor. He is supposed to have been a pupil of Ageladas of Argos, but he worked largely in Athens. Sculpting in bronze, he was noted for his animals ...

Tusculum

(Encyclopedia)Tusculum tŭsˈkyo͝oləm [key], city of ancient Latium. The ruins of this city are near modern Frascati, 15 mi (24 km) SE of Rome, Italy. According to legend, Tusculum was founded by Telegonus, son o...

Fletcher, Giles

(Encyclopedia)Fletcher, Giles, the elder, 1548?–1611, English writer and diplomat. He became a member of Parliament and later treasurer of St. Paul's. An envoy to Russia in 1588, he published an account of his ex...

Latin literature

(Encyclopedia)Latin literature, the literature of ancient Rome and of that written in Latin in later eras. Very little remains of the ritualistic songs and the native poetry of the Romans and Latins before the rise...

Faustina

(Encyclopedia)Faustina fôstīˈnə [key], name of two women, wives of Roman emperors. 1 The elder (c.104–141) was the wife of Antoninus Pius, who founded a school for orphan girls in her honor. 2 The younger (c....

Despenser, Hugh le

(Encyclopedia)Despenser, Hugh le lə dĭspĕnˈsər [key], d. 1265, chief justiciar of England. He joined the barons in their struggle against Henry III and received various offices, becoming chief justiciar in 126...

Salmasius, Claudius

(Encyclopedia)Salmasius, Claudius klôdˈēəs sălmāˈshəs [key], 1588–1653, French humanist and philologist. Salmasius is known in French as Claude de Saumaise. After studying Latin and Greek with his father,...