Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Zhoushan Archipelago

(Encyclopedia)Zhoushan Archipelago jō-shän [key], NE Zhejiang prov., China, in the East China Sea, at the entrance to Hangzhou Bay. It includes the main island of Zhoushan and about 100 lesser islands; Dinghai on...

Isis, in Egyptian religion

(Encyclopedia)Isis īˈsĭs [key], nature goddess whose worship, originating in ancient Egypt, gradually extended throughout the lands of the Mediterranean world during the Hellenistic period and became one of the ...

Colossians

(Encyclopedia)Colossians kəlŏshˈənz [key], New Testament letter. It was written to the Christians of Colossae and Laodicea, ostensibly by Paul while he was in prison, presumably in Rome (c.a.d. 60). Its writing...

Koya

(Encyclopedia)Koya kōˈyä [key], peak, 2,858 ft (871 m) high, S Honshu, Japan. On its summit is a Buddhist monastery, founded in 816. The monastery has 120 temples and is visited by more than a million pilgrims a...

Thebes , city of ancient Greece

(Encyclopedia)Thebes, chief city of Boeotia, in ancient Greece. It was originally a Mycenaean city. Thebes is rich in associations with Greek legend and religion (see Oedipus; the Seven against Thebes; Epigoni). So...

Samaria

(Encyclopedia)Samaria səmârˈēə [key], city, ancient Palestine, on a hill NW of modern-day Nablus (Shechem). The site is now occupied by a village, Sabastiyah (West Bank). Samaria (named for Shemer, who owned t...

Pope, John Russell

(Encyclopedia)Pope, John Russell, 1874–1937, American architect, b. New York City, studied at the College of the City of New York and the School of Mines, Columbia (Ph.B., 1894). He won a fellowship (1895) to the...

Shiva

(Encyclopedia)Shiva or Siva shēˈvə [key], one of the greatest gods of Hinduism, also called Mahadeva. The “horned god” and phallic worship of the Indus valley civilization may have been a prototype of Shiva ...

Rutledge, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Rutledge, Edward, 1749–1800, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Charleston, S.C.; brother of John Rutledge. He studied law at the Middle Templ...

Baugh, Sammy

(Encyclopedia)Baugh, Sammy (Samuel Adrian Baugh), 1914–2008, American football player, b. near Temple, Tex. The first great passer in the game, “Slingin' Sam” played for Texas Christian Univ. (1934–36) and ...