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hexameter

(Encyclopedia)hexameter hĕksămˈətər [key] [Gr.,=measure of six], in prosody, a line to be scanned in six feet (see versification). The most celebrated hexameter measure is dactylic, which was the meter for mos...

Satan

(Encyclopedia)Satan [Heb.,=adversary], traditional opponent of God and humanity in Judaism and Christianity. In Scripture and literature the role of the opponent is given many names, such as Apolyon, Beelzebub, Sem...

Madeleine

(Encyclopedia)Madeleine mădˈəlĭn, Fr. mädlĕnˈ [key] [Fr.,=Magdalen, i.e., Mary Magdalen], large church of Paris, in the Place de la Madeleine. It was originally planned by J. A. Gabriel as a part of his layo...

Nag Hammadi

(Encyclopedia)Nag Hammadi näg häˈmädi [key], a town in Egypt near the ancient town of Chenoboskion, where, in 1945, a large cache of gnostic texts in the Coptic language was discovered. The Nag Hammadi manuscri...

Golden Fleece

(Encyclopedia)Golden Fleece, in Greek mythology, the magic fleece of the winged ram that saved Phrixus and Helle, the children of Nephele and Athamas, from the jealousy of Ino, Athamas' second wife. The ram flew to...

antique

(Encyclopedia)antique. The term has been used collectively to designate classical Greek and Roman works of art, particularly sculptures; as an adjective to indicate an object, a period, or a style of ancient or ear...

Evans, Sir Arthur John

(Encyclopedia)Evans, Sir Arthur John, 1851–1941, English archaeologist. He was (1884–1908) keeper of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. From 1900 to 1935 he conducted excavations on the Greek island of Crete, prin...

Elgin Marbles

(Encyclopedia)Elgin Marbles ĕlˈgĭn [key], ancient sculptures taken from Athens to England in 1806 by Thomas Bruce, 7th earl of Elgin; other fragments exist in several European museums. Consisting of much of the ...

plaster casting

(Encyclopedia)plaster casting, as a sculpture process, is of three kinds. One employs a waste mold, another a piece mold (both plaster of paris), and the third a gelatin mold; all reproduce the original clay or wax...

Phrygia

(Encyclopedia)Phrygia frĭˈjēə [key], ancient region, central Asia Minor (now central Turkey). The Phrygians, who settled here c.1200 b.c., came from the Balkans and apparently spoke an Indo-European language. A...