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Chaos

(Encyclopedia)Chaos kāˈōs [key], in Greek religion and mythology, vacant, unfathomable space. From it arose all things, earthly and divine. There are various legends explaining it. In one version, Eurynome rose ...

Hilkiah

(Encyclopedia)Hilkiah hĭlkīˈə [key], in the Bible. 1 High priest under King Josiah and a leader in his revival of religion. 2 Father of Jeremiah. 3 Father of Eliakim (2.) 4 Merarite Levites. 5 Father of Gemaria...

Gaea

(Encyclopedia)Gaea jēˈə [key], in Greek religion and mythology, the earth, daughter of Chaos, both mother and wife of Uranus (the sky) and Pontus (the sea). Among Gaea's offspring by Uranus were the Cyclopes, th...

Kabyles

(Encyclopedia)Kabyles kəbīlzˈ [key], people, predominantly agricultural, of North Africa, whose center is the rugged Kabylia region of Algeria. Of uncertain origin, they form one of the larger divisions of the B...

Ohio State University

(Encyclopedia)Ohio State University, main campus at Columbus; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1870, opened 1873 as Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, renamed 1878. There are also cam...

Yggdrasill

(Encyclopedia)Yggdrasill ĭgˈdrəsĭl, yo͞ogˈ– [key], in Norse mythology, the great tree of the world. Its branches and roots extended through all the universe—the heavens, the earth, and the underworld. At ...

square

(Encyclopedia)square, closed plane figure bounded by four straight line segments of equal length and meeting at right angles. The points of intersection of the lines, or sides, are called vertices. The diagonals of...

Mornay, Philippe de, seigneur du Plessis-Marly

(Encyclopedia)Mornay, Philippe de, seigneur du Plessis-Marly fēlēpˈ də môrnāˈ sānyörˈ dü plĕsēˈ-märlēˈ [key], 1549–1623, diplomat and publicist for the French Protestants, or Huguenots, during th...

Babism

(Encyclopedia)Babism bäˈbĭzəm [key], system of doctrines proclaimed in Persia in 1844 by Ali Muhammad of Shiraz. Influenced by the Shaykhi Shiite theology that viewed the Twelve Imams as incarnations of the Div...

voodoo

(Encyclopedia)voodoo vo͞oˈdo͞o [key] [from the god Vodun], native W African religious beliefs and practices that also has adherents in the New World. Voodoo believers are most numerous in Haiti, where voodoo was...