HangingRod

Hylozoism

2005-11-18T05:25:00.000-08:00

(from Greek hyle, “matter”; zoe, “life”), in philosophy, any system that views all matter as alive, either in itself or by participation in the operation of a world soul or some similar principle. Hylozoism is logically distinct both from early forms of animism, which personify nature, and from panpsychism, which attributes some form of consciousness or sensation to all

Kames, Henry Home, Lord

2005-10-16T01:35:00.000-07:00

Kames was called to the bar in 1724 and was appointed a judge in the Court of Session in 1752. He became a lord of justiciary in 1763. He is best known for his Elements of Criticism, 3 vol. (1762), a work remarkable in the history of aesthetics for its attempt to equate beauty with what is pleasant to the natural senses

Texas, Revolution and the republic

2005-07-27T04:55:00.000-07:00

Unrest throughout Mexico, including Texas, resulted in a coup by Antonio López de Santa Anna, who assumed the presidency in 1833. Texans, hopeful for relief from restrictive governmental measures, supported Santa Anna. Austin expected a friendly hearing about these grievances but instead was imprisoned in Mexico City for encouraging insurrection. He was freed in 1835 and

Biblical Literature, Acts

2005-07-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

The various acts, close in form and content to the contemporary Hellenistic romances, turned the apostolic drama into melodrama and satisfied the popular taste for stories of travel and adventure, as well as for a kind of asceticism that was generally rejected by Christian leaders: Andrew (including the Acts of Andrew and Matthias Among the Cannibals), Barnabas

Tablas De Damiel National Park

2005-07-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

Nature reserve, located about 19 miles (30 km) northeast of the city of Ciudad Real, south-central Spain. The park, created in 1973, occupies 4,633 acres (1,875 hectares) and lies at the confluence of the Guadiana and Ciguela rivers, where fresh and brackish waters converge on the marshes and support both migratory and resident waterfowl year-round.

Hector

2005-06-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

In Greek legend, the eldest son of the Trojan king Priam and his queen Hecuba. He was the husband of Andromache and the chief warrior of the Trojan army. In Homer's Iliad he is represented as an ideal warrior and the mainstay of Troy. His character is drawn in most favourable colours as a good son, a loving husband and father, and a trusty friend. His leave-taking of Andromache

Babbitt, Milton

2005-06-03T02:50:00.000-07:00

Babbitt attended public schools in Jackson, Miss., and later studied at New

Referendum And Initiative

2005-05-31T21:25:00.000-07:00

The referendum may be obligatory or optional. Under the obligatory type, a statute or constitution requires that certain classes of legislative action be referred to a popular vote for approval or rejection. For

Earthfill Dam

2005-05-17T00:25:00.000-07:00

Also called Earth Dam, or Embankment Dam, dam built up by compacting successive layers of earth, using the most impervious materials to form a core and placing more permeable substances on the upstream and downstream sides. A facing of crushed stone prevents erosion by wind or rain, and an ample spillway, usually of concrete, protects against catastrophic washout should the water overtop the dam.

Gondi Family

2005-05-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

French family of Florentine origin, whose diplomats and bankers were prominent in France from the 16th century. The family established itself in France after gaining the confidence and patronage of Catherine de Médicis. Antoine II (1486–1560) was the first Gondi to settle in France and started the most illustrious branch of the family. At first a banker in Lyon, he was brought

Agricola, Rodolphus

2005-05-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

Agricola

Gyllenborg, Gustaf Fredrik, Greve (count)

2005-03-15T01:40:00.000-08:00

Swedish poet known for his satirical and reflective poetry. Although members of his family were prominent in political life, as a courtier he took no part in politics and attacked the weaknesses of modern society in the spirit of the French Romantic philosopher Rousseau in such poems as �Verldsf�raktaren

Argentina, Mesopotamia

2005-03-14T16:48:00.000-08:00

Thin stands of tall wax palms occupy the flood zones of Mesopotamia. Groups of trees and grassy areas form a park landscape of noted beauty. Common trees are the quebracho, exploited for its tannin since colonial times, the urunday, and the guayac�n, used for tannin and lumber. Gallery forests growing along rivers become denser and taller in Misiones province.

Denson, William Dowdell

2005-03-11T06:52:00.008-08:00

American lawyer who, as chief military prosecutor of Nazis accused of many of the most horrific of the atrocities committed in Germany at the Buchenwald, Mauthausen, Flossenberg, and Dachau concentration camps, was the most successful of the American prosecutors of World War II criminals; of 177 Nazis he prosecuted between 1945 and 1947, 97 were hanged and the rest went to prison

Denson, William Dowdell

2005-03-11T06:52:00.007-08:00

Denson, William Dowdell

2005-03-11T06:52:00.006-08:00

Denson, William Dowdell

2005-03-11T06:52:00.005-08:00

Denson, William Dowdell

2005-03-11T06:52:00.004-08:00

Denson, William Dowdell

2005-03-11T06:52:00.003-08:00

Denson, William Dowdell

2005-03-11T06:52:00.002-08:00

Denson, William Dowdell

2005-03-11T06:52:00.001-08:00

Denson, William Dowdell

2005-03-11T06:52:00.000-08:00

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Pagan and Christian interpretation

2005-03-07T05:13:00.000-08:00

Kenneth Burke, The Rhetoric of Religion (1961); Henry Chadwick, Early Christian Thought and the Classical Tradition (1966); C.H. Dodd, The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel (1968); A.O. Lovejoy, The Great Chain of Being (1936); H. de Lubac, Ex�g�se m�di�vale: les quatre sens de l'�criture (1959 - 64); A. Momigliano (ed.), The Conflict Between Paganism and Christianity in the Fourth Century (1963); G. von Rad, Theologie des Alten Testaments, 2nd ed. (1958; Eng. trans., Old Testament Theology, 2 vol., 1962 - 65); Rene Roques, L'Univers dionysien (1954); B. Smalley, The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages, 2nd ed. (1952); H.A. Wolfson, The Philosophy of the Church Fathers, vol. 1, Faith, Trinity, Incarnation (1956); Philo: Foundations of Religious Philosophy in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, 2 vol. (1947).

Space Station

2005-03-06T00:23:00.000-08:00

An artificial structure placed in orbit and having the pressurized enclosure, power, supplies, and environmental systems necessary to support human habitation for extended periods. Depending on its configuration, a space station can serve as a base for a variety of activities. These include observations of the Sun and other astronomical objects, study of the

Housatonic River

2005-03-05T01:39:00.000-08:00

River in southwestern New England, rising in the Berkshire Hills, near Pittsfield, Mass., U.S. It flows southward for 148 miles (238 km) through Massachusetts past Pittsfield, Lee, and Great Barrington; and then through Connecticut past New Milford, Derby, and Shelton to enter Long Island Sound, 4 miles (6 km) east of Bridgeport. Several hydroelectric plants utilize the river's drop

Bakony Mountains

2005-03-04T21:06:00.000-08:00

Mountain range in western Hungary, covering about 1,500 square miles (4,000 square km) between Lake Balaton and the Little Alfold and running southwest-northeast for 70 miles (110 km) from the Zala River. The range forms the major component of the highlands of Dun�nt�l, or Transdanubia (the Bakony, V�rtes, Gerecse, Budai and Pilis, and Visegr�d mountains). The Keszthely and Balatoni

Bhamo

2005-03-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

In ancient times Bhamo

Gully

2005-03-02T10:56:00.000-08:00

Trench cut into land by the erosion of an accelerated stream of water. Various conditions make such erosion possible: the natural vegetation securing the soil may have been destroyed by human action, by fire, or by a climatic change; or an exceptional storm may send in torrents of water down the streambed. Gully erosion is closely related to intense local thunderstorms

Pre-columbian Civilizations, The earliest Maya civilization of the lowlands

2005-03-02T09:18:00.001-08:00

By the Late Formative, the lowland Maya had begun to shape a civilization that was to become the greatest in the New World. The Pet�n-Yucat�n Peninsula lacks many raw materials and has a relatively low agricultural potential. But what it does have in limitless quantities is readily quarried limestone for building purposes and flint for stonework. Cement and plaster

Pre-columbian Civilizations, The earliest Maya civilization of the lowlands

2005-03-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

Staged Rocket

2005-03-01T22:28:00.000-08:00

Vehicle driven by several rocket systems mounted in vertical sequence. The lowest, or first stage, ignites and then lifts the vehicle at increasing velocity until exhaustion of its propellants. At that point the first stage drops off, lightening the vehicle, and the second stage ignites and accelerates the vehicle further. Most space launch vehicles have three

Pre-columbian Civilizations, The Maya highlands and Pacific coast

2005-03-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

Little is known about the Guatemalan highlands between the demise of the Late Formative Miraflores culture and the onset of the Early Classic. But at the ancient site of Kaminaljuy�, on the western side of Guatemala City, a group of invaders from Teotihuac�n built a miniature replica of their capital city. This happened about AD 400, when Teotihuac�n was at the height of

Egypt, Ancient, The aftermath of Amarna

2005-02-28T04:57:00.000-08:00

Akhenaton had six daughters by Nefertiti and one or two sons, perhaps by a secondary wife Kiya or by his own daughter Maketaton, who may have died in childbirth and whose infant son is shown in the royal tomb at Amarna. His immediate, ephemeral successor was a woman, possibly his eldest daughter Meritaton. Either she or the widow of Tutankhamen called on the Hittite king

Pre-columbian Civilizations, Deities

2005-02-28T00:55:00.000-08:00

The ancient tribes of central Mexico had worshiped fertility gods for many centuries when the Aztec invaded the valley. The cult of these gods remained extremely important in Aztec religion. Tlaloc, the giver of rain but also the wrathful deity of lightning, was the leader of a group of rain gods, the Tlaloques, who dwelt on mountaintops. Chalchiuhtlicue (�One Who Wears

Pre-columbian Civilizations, The nature of Andean civilization

2005-02-27T00:51:00.000-08:00

The coastal desert was inhabited for millennia by fishermen, and many of their settlements have been studied by archaeologists. The people in these communities were familiar with the sea and depended heavily on its products, but from very early times they also used and possibly cultivated native varieties of cotton. Textiles have been the major art form in the

Elizabethton

2005-02-27T00:02:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1796) of Carter county, northeastern Tennessee, U.S. It lies at the confluence of the Doe and Watauga rivers, in the southern Appalachian Mountains, about 105 miles (170 km) northeast of Knoxville and just east of Johnson City. Situated in the valley of the Watauga, it is one of the region's oldest settlements, where a compact for self-government (the Watauga Association) was

Pre-columbian Civilizations, The Middle Horizon

2005-02-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

Both Pucar� and Tiwanaku were early forms of what became known as the Middle Horizon, an expansion of multiple-valley political rule that had two centres: one in the southern Altiplano, the other centred on Huari (Wari), near the modern Peruvian city of Ayacucho. This development is usually dated about AD 600. Some Tiwanaku effigy vessels have been discovered at Huari, but

Guitar

2005-02-26T06:46:00.000-08:00

Plucked stringed musical instrument that probably originated in Spain early in the 16th century, deriving from the guitarra latina, a late-medieval instrument with a waisted body and four strings. The early guitar was narrower and deeper than the modern guitar, with a less pronounced waist. It

Pre-columbian Civilizations, The origins and expansion of the Inca state

2005-02-25T20:30:00.000-08:00

Inca origins and early history are largely shrouded in legends that may be more mythical than factual. Their later history, particularly from the reign of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (Pachakuti 'Inka Yupanki; see Table 2) onward, is largely based on fact, even though it presents what the Inca wanted people to know. Whether these historical traditions are true, in the sense

Corcovado, Mount

2005-02-25T08:26:00.000-08:00

Portuguese �Morro Do Corcovado, � sharp rocky peak (2,310 ft [704 m]), a part of the Carioca Range, overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Mt. Corcovado (Hunchback) is named for its shape. On its narrow summit towers the imposing statue of Christ the Redeemer, 98.5 ft tall. The peak is accessible by road and cog railway.

Pre-columbian Civilizations, Internal division and external expansion

2005-02-24T20:04:00.000-08:00

For some time there had been palace intrigue in Cuzco over who would succeed Viracocha Inca to the throne. The Emperor chose Inca Urcon ('Inka 'Urqon) as his successor, but the two generals Vicaquirao and Apo Mayta preferred another son, Cusi Inca Yupanqui (Kusi 'Inka Yupanki). As the Chanca approached Cuzco, Viracocha Inca and Inca Urcon withdrew to a fort near Calca, while

Gsung-'bum

2005-02-23T14:02:00.000-08:00

The writings of the lamas include commentaries on Indian texts together with essays on

Pre-columbian Civilizations, Administration of the empire

2005-02-23T01:44:00.000-08:00

Topa Inca Yupanqui returned to Cuzco, secure in the knowledge that Inca power could not be challenged. The rapid expansion of the empire, however, created a number of problems concerned with sustaining themselves and governing a large number of diverse ethnic groups. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui and Topa Inca Yupanqui were imaginative and made several important innovations

Pre-columbian Civilizations, Civil war on the eve of the Spanish conquest

2005-02-22T23:38:00.000-08:00

Huayna Capac's father had begun the custom of marrying a full sister in order to keep the royal bloodline pure and, more importantly, to prevent conflict over succession. According to this custom, one sister became the principal wife of the emperor, and one of their sons became the next ruler. As noted above, this system had failed at Huayna Capac's succession. Nor did it

Cordial

2005-02-22T04:54:00.000-08:00

A liqueur (q.v.); though the term cordial was formerly used for only those liqueurs that were thought to have a tonic or stimulating quality due to the medicinal components of their flavourings, the terms cordial and liqueur are now used interchangeably.

Pre-columbian Civilizations, The Spanish conquest

2005-02-21T22:05:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile, the Spaniards had landed at Tumbes on the northern coast of Peru early in 1532 and were seeking an interview with Atahuallpa so that they could kidnap him. It is clear that they understood the nature of the Inca civil war and were dealing with emissaries from both factions. Their actions, however, must have seemed puzzling to Atahuallpa. On the one hand, Pizarro

Faidherbe, Louis

2005-02-21T00:12:00.000-08:00

In full� Louis-l�on-c�sar Faidherbe � governor of French Senegal in 1854 - 61 and 1863 - 65 and a major founder of France's colonial empire in Africa. He founded Dakar, the future capital of French West Africa.

Painting, Western, Archaic period (c. 625

2005-02-20T23:01:00.000-08:00

Corinth remained the leading exporter of Greek vases until about 550 BC, though mass production quickly led to a drop in quality. These later vases were decorated with unambitious and stereotyped groups of animal or human figures; there was little or no interest in narrative. By the late 7th century BC Athenian artists had adopted many of the stylistic features of Corinthian

Cagliostro, Alessandro, Count (count) Di

2005-02-20T07:43:00.000-08:00

Balsamo was the son of poor parents and grew up as an urchin in the streets of Palermo. Escaping from Sicily after a series of minor crimes, he traveled

Aiken

2005-02-19T04:28:00.000-08:00

The area was inhabited by Algonquian-speaking Savannah

Painting, Western, Late Gothic

2005-02-18T23:46:00.000-08:00

The key to much 15th-century painting in northern Europe lies in the Low Countries. The influence of Paris and Dijon decreased, partly because of the renewal of the Hundred Years' War between England and France and partly because of the removal of the Burgundian court, after the mid-1420s, from Dijon to Brussels, which subsequently became the centre of an extensive court

Manchuria

2005-02-18T20:52:00.000-08:00

Also called �Northeast�, Wade-Giles �Tung-pei�, Pinyin �Dongbei� historical region of northeastern China. Strictly speaking, it consists of the modern provinces (sheng) of Liaoning (south), Kirin (central), and Heilungkiang (north); often, however, the northeastern portion of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region also is included. Manchuria is bounded by Russia (northwest, north, and east), North Korea (south), and the province of Hopeh (southwest).

Painting, Western, The 17th century

2005-02-17T18:29:00.000-08:00

English painting during the 17th century had been dominated by a series of foreign-born practitioners, mostly portraitists (e.g., Rubens and Van Dyck), even before the Civil War. Sir Peter Lely and Sir Godfrey Kneller continued this trend after the Restoration. The vast majority of the painting executed by native artists remained thoroughly provincial. Lely began his

Yi In-mun

2005-02-17T05:54:00.000-08:00

A follower of the traditional Northern school of Chinese painting, Yi was known for the subtlety of his designs and the confidence of his brushstrokes. His most famous work, �River in Spring,� is a long horizontal scroll depicting an endless landscape along a river. His use of

Painting, Western, Germany

2005-02-16T15:55:00.000-08:00

In Germany also there was a reaction against classicism and the academies, and, as elsewhere, it involved all aspects of the arts. Again, as elsewhere, theory preceded practice: Herzensergiessungen eines kunstliebenden Klosterbruders (�Effusions of an Art-Loving Monk�), by Wilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder, had an immediate and widespread influence upon its publication

Bacheller, Irving (addison)

2005-02-16T11:42:00.000-08:00

Bacheller graduated from St. Lawrence University, Canton, N.Y., in 1882 and entered journalism. In 1883 in Brooklyn, N.Y., he founded the first modern newspaper syndicate and through

Dating, Potassium

2005-02-15T21:25:00.000-08:00

The radioactive decay scheme involving the breakdown of potassium of mass 40 (40K) to argon gas of mass 40 (40Ar) formed the basis of the first widely used isotopic dating method. Since radiogenic argon-40 was first detected in 1938 by the American geophysicist Lyman T. Aldrich and A.O. Nier, the method has evolved into one of the most versatile and widely employed methods available. Potassium

China, Education

2005-02-15T18:15:00.000-08:00

The educational system in China is a major vehicle for both inculcating values in and teaching needed skills to its people. Traditional Chinese culture attached great importance to education as a means of enhancing a person's worth and career. In the early 1950s the Chinese Communists worked hard to increase the country's rate of literacy, an effort that won them considerable

Taraori, Battles Of

2005-02-14T09:42:00.000-08:00

Muhammad had taken Lahore from the last of the

Udhampur

2005-02-13T19:13:00.000-08:00

Town in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir state, situated at an elevation of 2,500 feet (760 m). It is named for Udham Singh, eldest son of Gulab Singh, the founder and ruler of the Jammu and Kashmir state. Situated on the Pathankot-Uri national highway connecting Srinagar via Udhampur to the rest of India, Udhampur town is an important military cantonment in northern India. Krimchi,

Triassic Period, Invertebrates

2005-02-13T00:45:00.000-08:00

Ammonoids were common in the Permian but suffered drastic reduction at the end of that period. Only a few genera belonging to

Van Buren, Martin

2005-02-12T10:38:00.000-08:00

Unanimously renominated by the Democrats in 1840, Van Buren was overwhelmingly defeated by the Whig candidate William Henry Harrison. Four years later the Democrats were bitterly divided over the question of the annexation of Texas, and Van Buren, who opposed annexation, was passed over in favour of James K. Polk, who won the election on a platform calling for the annexation of both Texas and Oregon. In 1848 Van Buren ran as a candidate of the Free Soil Party, which included members of the antislavery factions of the Democratic Party (the �Barnburners�) and the Whig Party, but he received only 10 percent of the vote. He spent several years in Europe and then retired to his estate, Lindenwald, in Kinderhook.

Jurassic Period, Eurasia and Gondwana

2005-02-12T03:25:00.000-08:00

The Tethyan geosyncline on the margins of both Eurasia and Gondwana accumulated thick sequences of Jurassic rock ranging from carbonates and evaporites to sandstone. The carbonates include shallow-water marl, limestone and reefs, and deep-water siliceous limestone. The presence of radiolarian cherts strongly indicates a deep-water origin for some of the sediments.

Bridalveil Fall

2005-02-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

Cataract on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada in Yosemite National Park, east-central California, U.S. Fed mainly by melting snow, the waterfall has a height of 620 feet (189 m) and forms one of the most scenic features in the park.

Cretaceous Period, Correlation

2005-02-11T00:17:00.000-08:00

Correlation of Cretaceous rocks is usually accomplished using fossils. Ammonites are the most widely employed fossils in terms of both frequency of use and geographic extent, but no single fossil group is capable of worldwide correlation of all sedimentary rocks. Most ammonites, for example, did not occur in all latitudes because some preferred the warmer waters

Kidderminster

2005-02-10T11:56:00.000-08:00

Town, Wyre Forest district, administrative and historic county of Worcestershire, England. It is situated along the River Stour and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. Recorded as Stour-in-Usmere in 736 CE, it was given to the comes (count) Cyneberght by King Aethelbald (reigned 716 - 757). Later it passed to the bishop of Worcester and thence to Cenwulf, king of Mercia (816), and it

Tertiary Period, Subdivisions

2005-02-10T02:26:00.000-08:00

The Tertiary faunas of western Europe that were known to 19th-century natural scientists consisted primarily of mollusks exhibiting varying degrees of similarity with modern types. At the same time, the science of stratigraphy was in its infancy, and the primary focus of its earliest practitioners was to use the newly discovered sequential progression of fossils

Psychomotor Learning, Devices and tasks

2005-02-09T19:25:00.000-08:00

Hundreds of electrical and mechanical instruments have been developed for research in psychomotor learning, but those commonly used number less than two dozen. In operating a device called a complex coordinator, the learner is instructed to make prompt, synchronized adjustments of handstick and foot-bar controls to match different combinations of stimulus

Utraquist

2005-02-09T01:18:00.000-08:00

Also called �Calixtin, or Calixtine, � any of the spiritual descendants of Jan Hus who believed that the laity, like the clergy, should receive the Eucharist under the forms of both bread and wine (Latin utraque, �each of two�; calix, �chalice�). Unlike the militant Taborites (also followers of Hus), the Utraquists were moderates and maintained amicable relations with the Roman Catholic Church. As a consequence,

Lipalian Interval

2005-02-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

In geology, time span suggested in an attempt to explain the sudden appearance of abundant life forms in the earliest known Cambrian rocks (approximately 570,000,000 years old), in contrast to their absence in the latest Precambrian strata (no more than about 800,000,000 years old). Unlike Precambrian indications of life, Cambrian faunas are comparatively highly developed and diverse,

Spain, Wildlife

2005-02-08T07:41:00.000-08:00

The proximity of Africa has given Spain more African species than are found in the other Mediterranean peninsulas, while the Pyrenean barrier and the general extent of the country explain the number of indigenous species. The European wolf and the brown bear survive in the wildest areas of the northeast. The Barbary ape is possibly indigenous but more likely an

Rowell, Newton Wesley

2005-02-07T16:57:00.000-08:00

Rowell was called to the bar in 1891 and made king's counselor in 1902. As a member of the Ontario legislative assembly in 1911, he became leader of the Liberal opposition. He entered the Dominion House of Commons in 1917 and served in Sir Robert Laird Borden's Unionist

Spain, Music

2005-02-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

The influence of the past was particularly strong in the field of music. Composers such as Isaac Alb�niz (1860 - 1909), Enrique Granados (1867 - 1916), Manuel de Falla (1876 - 1946), and Joaqu�n Rodrigo (b. 1901) drew heavily on popular and regional music for their inspiration. One by-product of this was the creation of a serious musical repertoire for the guitar. The instrument gained additional stature from the

Spain, Literature

2005-02-06T18:18:00.000-08:00

The most famous writer of the century, however, was poet and playwright Federico Garc�a Lorca (1898 - 1936). He was executed

Literature, Hebrew.

2005-02-06T06:35:00.000-08:00

The quantitative prosperity of Hebrew fiction in 2001 produced mixed results. The few impressive achievements included Gabriela Avigur-Rotem's Hamsin vetziporim meshuga'ot (�Heatwave and Crazy Birds�), Yoel Hoffmann's The Shunra and the Schmetterling (�The Cat and the Butterfly�), Daniella Carmi's Lesha'hrer pil (�To Free an Elephant�), and Reuven Miran's Shalosh sigariot

Spain, Phoenicians

2005-02-05T18:30:00.000-08:00

Venerable historical traditions recount the Phoenician voyages to found new cities. Utica, on the Tunisian coast of North Africa, was reputedly founded in 1178 BC, and by 1100 BC the Phoenician city of Tyre supposedly had a Spanish colony at Gadir (Cadiz). Although intriguing, these historical traditions are unsupported by evidence. Excavations confirm that the Phoenicians settled

Minamata

2005-02-05T04:48:00.000-08:00

City, Kumamoto ken (prefecture), southeastern Kyushu, Japan, on Yatsushiro Bay. A company town of the Nippon Chisso Hiryo Company, its main products are chemical fertilizer, carbide, and vinyl chloride. Minamata was traditionally a fishing port and has regular sea-route connections to Amakusa-shimo Island, the main island of the Amakusa Archipelago. Hot springs are

Port Arthur

2005-02-04T19:58:00.000-08:00

City, Jefferson county, southeastern Texas, U.S., 90 miles (145 km) east of Houston. It is a major deepwater port on Sabine Lake and the Sabine-Neches and Gulf Intracoastal waterways, 9 miles (14 km) from the Gulf of Mexico. With Beaumont and Orange, it forms the �Golden Triangle,� an important petrochemical complex. Atakapa Indians occupied the region before 1800. Several early settlements,

Spain, The independent emirate

2005-02-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

'Abd ar-Rahm

Spain, The Almohads

2005-02-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

In Africa the Almohad dynasty finally triumphed, and 'Abd al-Mu'min (1130 - 63), successor to Ibn Tumart, was able to turn his attention to Spain and to undertake the integration of all the Muslim states - the second ta'ifas - formed under the shield of the latest internecine wars caused by the Almoravid decline. Of these states, there stood out especially that under Ibn Mardanish (1147 - 72), who, with

Alloy

2005-02-03T00:11:00.000-08:00

Alloys are usually produced by melting the mixture of ingredients. The value of alloys was discovered in very ancient times; brass (copper and zinc) and bronze

Baptistery

2005-02-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

Hall or chapel situated close to, or connected with, a church, in which the sacrament of baptism is administered. The form of the baptistery originally evolved from small, circular Roman buildings that were designated for religious purposes (e.g., the Temple of Venus, Baalbek, Lebanon, AD 273, and the Mausoleum of Diocletian, Spalato [Split, Croatia], AD 300); but because baptism originally

Spain, Society

2005-02-02T01:14:00.000-08:00

In discussing the influx of the Muslims into Spain, the various social groups into which the population was divided have already been pointed out: Arabs (baladiyyun and Syrians), Berbers, muwallads, Mozarabs, Jews, and slaves. The Muslim population continued to increase during the early centuries of the occupation because of the wave of conversions that markedly reduced

Parade

2005-02-01T23:53:00.000-08:00

A type of pageant (q.v.) whose main feature is a public procession.

Spain, Literature

2005-02-01T02:34:00.000-08:00

In the 9th century there flourished such court poets as 'Abbas ibn Nasih, 'Abbas ibn Firnas, Yahya al-Ghazal, and the knight Sa'id ibn Judi. Towering above all these, however, was Muhammad ibn Hani', nicknamed the �Mutanabbi of the West� (Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi was a 10th-century poet of Iraq), who by virtue of his religious ideas was obliged to forsake his native land and enter into the service of the

Spain, Literature

2005-01-31T03:38:00.000-08:00

The expulsion of the Jews in 1492 did not signify the end of Jewish influence on Spanish history, as was thought until recently. It is not, however, easy to establish a clear-cut direction or pattern of this influence. At the end of the 15th century there may have been up to 300,000 conversos in Spain, and the majority of these remained. They had constituted the educated urban bourgeoisie

Wang Wei

2005-01-31T00:24:00.000-08:00

Pinyin �Wang Wei, �also called �Wang Mo-ch'i� one of the most famous men of arts and letters during one of the golden ages of Chinese cultural history. Wang Wei is popularly known as a model of humanistic education as expressed in poetry, music, and painting. In the 17th century, the writer on art Tung Ch'i-ch'ang (q.v.) established him as the founder of the revered Southern school of painter-poets,

Spain, The French wars

2005-01-30T16:52:00.000-08:00

In these circumstances it is not surprising that Spain now became the victim rather than the initiator of aggression. In three successive wars with France (1667 - 68, 1672 - 78, 1689 - 97), Spain lost Franche-Comt� (Treaty of Nijmegen, 1678) and some Belgian frontier towns to France but still managed to hold on to the greater part of the southern Netherlands and the Italian dominions. The reason was less

Tequila

2005-01-30T00:24:00.000-08:00

Distilled liquor, usually clear in colour and unaged, that is made from the fermented juice of the Mexican agave plant, specifically several varieties of Agave tequilana Weber. Tequila contains 40 - 50 percent alcohol (80 - 100 U.S. proof). The beverage, which was developed soon after the Spaniards introduced distillation to Mexico, is named for the town of Tequila in the Mexican state

Spain, Primo de Rivera

2005-01-29T11:07:00.000-08:00

Primo de Rivera was a political improviser who believed his mission was to save Spain from the old politicians and to hand over government (after an interval of personal rule) to �clean� patriots. He failed to complete the process because his rule became increasingly unpopular, especially among the intellectuals and Catalans. The September 1923 coup by which he had gained

Ovenbird

2005-01-29T01:48:00.000-08:00

Any of several species of small birds, named for building a domed nest with a side entrance, especially Seiurus aurocapillus, a wood warbler (family Parulidae, order Passeriformes) of North America east of the Rockies; it winters south to Colombia. Brownish-olive above, with a streaked breast, white eye ring, and black-edged orange crown, the bird looks like a small thrush.

Euclidean Geometry, Axioms of betweenness

2005-01-28T22:36:00.000-08:00

The symbol [ABC] shall mean that the points A, B, C are in the relation of betweenness. Two axioms can be assumed for this relation (see Box 2, items 22, 23). If geometry has already been constructed, the reader may interpret [ABC] to mean, say, AB, BC are perpendicular, or B is the midpoint of AC, or A, C are on a circle the centre of which is B, and consider which of these statements is true. An intuitive interpretation

Skeleton Sledding

2005-01-28T19:12:00.000-08:00

Also called �Cresta sledding� winter sport in which the skeleton sled, or Cresta, consisting of steel runners fastened to a platform chassis, is ridden in a headfirst, prone position. Skeleton sledding competitions are typically held on the same courses used for bobsled contests. It is a dangerous and thrilling sport where riders, with their faces just inches above the icy course, attain speeds

Euclidean Geometry, Axioms of congruence

2005-01-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

Five axioms (see Box

Pottery, Archaic period (c. 750 - c. 480 BC)

2005-01-27T15:56:00.000-08:00

By c. 550 BC Athens had once again become the principal centre of pottery manufacture in Greece, having ousted its Corinthian rivals from the overseas markets. Its success is at least partially due to a sudden improvement in technique, for its potters had learned how to obtain the familiar orange-red surface of their vases by mixing a proportion of ruddle, or red ochre, with

Aeschylus

2005-01-26T16:58:00.000-08:00

Studies of special topics relating to Aeschylus' plays include Anthony J. Podlecki, The Political Background of Aeschylean Tragedy (1966); A.F. Garvie, Aeschylus' �Supplices�: Play and Trilogy (1969); George Thomson, Aeschylus and Athens: A Study in the Social Origins of Drama, 4th ed. (1973), a Marxist study; Anne Lebeck, The Oresteia: A Study in Language and Structure (1971), on the significant connections of imagery; R.P. Winnington-Ingram, Studies in Aeschylus (1983), a collection of insightful essays; Thomas G. Rosenmeyer, The Art of Aeschylus (1982), a critical study; D.J. Conacher, Aeschylus' �Prometheus Bound�: A Literary Commentary (1980); Mark Griffith, The Authenticity of �Prometheus Bound� (1977), a powerful attack on authenticity; and Oliver Taplin, The Stagecraft of Aeschylus: The Dramatic Use of Exits and Entrances in Greek Tragedy (1978), on dramatic techniques and meanings.

Symbolist Movement, Axioms of congruence

2005-01-26T00:19:00.000-08:00

Dramatists also took their lead from the French Symbolist poets, especially from Mallarm�. As drama critic for La Derni�re Mode during the 1870s, Mallarm� opposed the dominant Realist theatre and called for a poetic theatre that would evoke the hidden mystery of man and the universe. Drama, for Mallarm�, should be a sacred rite in which the poet-dramatist revealed the

Albany, Louise Maximilienne Caroline, Countess Of

2005-01-25T21:56:00.000-08:00

The elder daughter of Gustav Adolf, prince of Stolberg-Gedern, she entered the convent of Saint Waudru in Mons, where

Euclidean Geometry, Homotheties

2005-01-25T02:23:00.000-08:00

If two nonconcentric circles have centres A, B and unequal radii r, s, there are points I, E with [AIB], AI | IB ~ AE | EB ~ r | s. In consequence, the

Euclidean Geometry, To find a circle touching three given circles

2005-01-24T23:10:00.000-08:00

The problem of finding a circle touching three given circles K1, K2, K3 may be considered. For simplicity the circles may be mutually external. The radical axes of each pair can be constructed by methods that are described in the section Construction of radical axis of two nonconcentric circles. These axes, which are assumed distinct and no two parallel, all meet in a point