Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Magna Graecia măgˈnə grēˈshə [key] [Lat.,=great Greece], Greek colonies of S Italy. The Greek overseas expansion of the 8th cent. b.c. founded a number of towns that became the centers of a new,...

(Encyclopedia) Zaleucus zəlo͞oˈkəs [key], fl. c.650 b.c., Greek lawgiver of Locris, in Italy. According to tradition, his was the earliest codification of Greek law. References to Zaleucus' code, which was widel...

(Encyclopedia) giant, in mythology, manlike being of great size and strength. The giant has been the symbol for the expression of certain recurring beliefs in the mythologies of all races. He is universally represen...

(Encyclopedia) Lilith lĭlˈĭth [key], female demon of Jewish mythology, originally probably the Assyrian storm demon Lilitu. In Talmudic tradition many evil attributes were given to this supposedly nocturnal creat...

(Encyclopedia) Kazantzakis, Nikos nēˈkôs käˌzändzäˈkēs [key], 1883?–1957, Greek writer, b. Crete. After obtaining a law degree he studied philosophy under Henri Bergson in Paris and traveled widely in Eur...

(Encyclopedia) Phanar or Fanar both: fănˈər, fənärˈ [key], Greek quarter of Constantinople (now İstanbul). Under the Ottoman Empire, Phanar was the residence of the privileged Greek families, called Phanariot...

(Encyclopedia) Sergel, Johan Tobias yo͞oˈhän to͞obēˈäs sĕrˈyəl [key], 1740–1814, Swedish sculptor. He studied (1767–79) in Rome, and much of his sculpture is in the neoclassical style. His subjects, ot...

(Encyclopedia) Grey, Sir George, 1812–98, British colonial administrator. He explored the Swan River district in NW Australia (1838) and later was governor of South Australia (1841–45) and of New Zealand (1845�...

(Encyclopedia) city-state, in ancient Greece, Italy, and Medieval Europe, an independent political unit consisting of a city and surrounding countryside. The first city-states were in Sumer, but they reached their p...

(Encyclopedia) X, 24th letter of the alphabet. In English it has no peculiar sound, but stands for the combination ks as in fox, or gz as in exempt, or, initially, for the sound of z as in xenia. In words from Greek...