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Ramses II

(Encyclopedia)Ramses II both: rămˈəsēzˌ [key], d. 1225 b.c., king of ancient Egypt, of the XIX dynasty. The son of Seti I, Ramses was not the heir to the throne but usurped it from his brother. He reigned for ...

Debir

(Encyclopedia)Debir dēˈbər [key], in the Bible. 1 King of Eglon. 2 City, ancient Palestine, WSW of Hebron, on the main caravan route to Egypt. Also called Kirjath-sannah and Kirjath-sepher. 3 Unidentified locati...

hoplite

(Encyclopedia)hoplite hŏpˈlīt [key], heavy infantry soldier in the armies of classical Greece. Hoplites were usually protected by helmets, cuirasses, and leg armor. They carried large shields, javelins, heavy sw...

Mediterranean Sea

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Mediterranean Sea [Lat.,=in the midst of lands], the world's largest inland sea, c.965,000 sq mi (2,499,350 sq km), surrounded by Europe, Asia, and Africa. Some of the most ancient civilizat...

oracle

(Encyclopedia)oracle, in Greek religion, priest or priestess who imparted the response of a god to a human questioner. The word is also used to refer to the response itself and to the shrine of a god. Every oracula...

Cockerell, Charles Robert

(Encyclopedia)Cockerell, Charles Robert kŏkˈərəl [key], 1788–1863, English architect, archaeologist, and writer. While excavating at Bassae, Aegina, and other sites in Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor, he studie...

sphinx

(Encyclopedia)sphinx sfĭngks [key], mythical beast of ancient Egypt, frequently symbolizing the pharaoh as an incarnation of the sun god Ra. The sphinx was represented in sculpture usually in a recumbent position ...

Pátrai

(Encyclopedia)Pátrai pəträsˈ, pătˈrəs [key], Lat. Patrae, city (1991 pop. 153,344), capital of Akhaía prefecture, central Greece, in the Peloponnesus. It is a port on the Gulf of Pátrai, which connects the...

sumptuary laws

(Encyclopedia)sumptuary laws sŭmpˈcho͞oĕˌrē [key], regulations based on social, religious, or moral grounds directed against overindulgence of luxury in diet and drink and extravagance in dress and mode of li...

clepsydra

(Encyclopedia)clepsydra klĕpˈsĭdrə [key] or water clock, ancient device for measuring time by means of the flow of water from a container. A simple form of clepsydra was an earthenware vessel with a small openi...