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Cavafy, Constantine

(Encyclopedia)Cavafy, Constantine kônˌstäntēˈnôs pāˈtro͞o käväˈfēs [key], 1863–1933, Greek poet. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, he spent most of his life there, but lived for about five years in England....

Etruscan civilization

(Encyclopedia)Etruscan civilization, highest civilization in Italy before the rise of Rome. The core of the territory of the Etruscans, known as Etruria to the Latins, was northwest of the Tiber River, now in moder...

Philo

(Encyclopedia)Philo jo͞odēˈəs [key] [Lat.,=Philo the Jew], c.20 b.c.–c.a.d. 50, Alexandrian Jewish philosopher. His writings have had an enormous influence on both Jewish and Christian thought, and particular...

Byzantine music

(Encyclopedia)Byzantine music, the music of the Byzantine Empire composed to Greek texts as ceremonial, festival, or church music. Long thought to be only a further development of ancient Greek music, Byzantine mus...

Highet, Gilbert Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Highet, Gilbert Arthur məkĭnˈəs [key], 1907–85, b. Glasgow, is noted for her fast-paced, intricately plotted novels of espionage, including Above Suspicion (1941), While Still We Live (1944), De...

Pasargadae

(Encyclopedia)Pasargadae pəsärˈgədē [key], capital of ancient Persia under Cyrus the Great. Its ruins lie 54 mi (87 km) by road NE of Persepolis, in present Iran. The buildings of Cyrus include a temple in the...

Aristarchus of Samothrace

(Encyclopedia)Aristarchus of Samothrace sămˈəthrās [key], c.217–c.145 b.c., Greek scholar, successor to his teacher, Aristophanes of Byzantium, as librarian at Alexandria. He was an innovator of scientific sc...

phalanx

(Encyclopedia)phalanx, ancient Greek formation of infantry. The soldiers were arrayed in rows (8 or 16), with arms at the ready, making a solid block that could sweep bristling through the more dispersed ranks of t...

picnic

(Encyclopedia)picnic, social gathering at which each participant generally brings food to be shared. The Picnic Society was formed in London early in the 19th cent. by a group of fashionable people for purposes of ...

sarcophagus

(Encyclopedia)sarcophagus särkŏfˈəgəs [key] [Gr.,=flesh-eater], name given by the Greeks to a special marble found in Asia Minor, near the territory of ancient Troy, and used in caskets. It was believed to hav...