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Berkovits, Eliezer

(Encyclopedia)Berkovits, Eliezer ĕlˌēāˈzər brˈkōvĭts [key], 1908–92, rabbi, theologian, and educator, b. Romania. He served in the rabbinate in Berlin (1934–39), in Leeds, England (1940–46), in Sydne...

Louis XIII, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Louis XIII, 1601–43, king of France (1610–43). He succeeded his father, Henry IV, under the regency of his mother, Marie de' Medici. He married Anne of Austria in 1615. Even after being declared o...

Serra, Saint Junípero

(Encyclopedia)Serra, Saint Junípero ho͞onēˈpārō sĕˈrä [key], 1713–84, Spanish Franciscan missionary in North America, b. Majorca. His name was originally Miguel José Serra, and Junípero was his name in...

Evander

(Encyclopedia)Evander ĭvănˈdər [key], in Greek religion, a minor deity worshiped in Arcadia in connection with Pan. In Roman religion, he was said to have introduced the worship of Faunus and to have founded th...

Norns

(Encyclopedia)Norns, the Norse Fates. Like the Fates of Greek religion and mythology, the Norns spun and wove the web of life. Belief in the Norns was of great importance in Germanic religion and life. It was said ...

blasphemy

(Encyclopedia)blasphemy, in religion, words or actions that display irreverence toward or contempt for God or that which is held sacred. Blasphemy is regarded as an offense against the community to varying degrees,...

Wovoka

(Encyclopedia)Wovoka wōvōˈkə [key], c.1858–1932, Paiute, prophet of a messianic religion sometimes called the Ghost Dance religion. Also known as Jack Wilson, he was influenced by his father (a mystic) as wel...

Boethius

(Encyclopedia)Boethius bōēsˈ [key] (Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius), c.475–525, Roman philosopher and statesman. An honored figure in the public life of Rome, where he was consul in 510, he became the able...

sun worship

(Encyclopedia)sun worship. Deification and adoration of the sun occurred primarily in agrarian societies. When man became a farmer, and thus dependent upon daily and seasonal changes of weather, he often turned to ...

Durant, William James

(Encyclopedia)Durant, William James, 1885–1981, American historian and essayist, b. North Adams, Mass. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1917 and published his doctoral dissertation, Philosophy and the Socia...