Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Mari mäˈrē [key], ancient city of Mesopotamia (modern Syria). It is on the middle Euphrates, south of its junction with the Habor (Khabur). The site was discovered by chance in the early 1930s by A...

(Encyclopedia) Pyeongchang, city (2011 est. pop. 43,000), NE South Korea, in the Taebaek Mtns. on the Pyeongchang river. Pyeongchang is the seat of Pyeongchang co., a mountainous farming region that has been develop...

(Encyclopedia) Placid, Lake, 4 mi (6 km) long and c.1.5 mi (2.4 km) wide, NE N.Y., in the Adirondack Mts., near Mt. Marcy. The lake, with Lake Placid village at the southern end, is a noted winter-sports center. It ...

(Encyclopedia) Crete krēt [key], Gr. Kríti, island, c.3,235 sq mi (8,380 sq km), SE Greece, in the E Medit...

(Encyclopedia) Greek architecture the art of building that arose on the shores of the Aegean Sea and flourished in the ancient world. In addition to temples, the Greeks also built a number of other kinds of struct...

(Encyclopedia) mysteries, in Greek and Roman religion, some important secret cults. The conventional religions of both Greeks and Romans were alike in consisting principally of propitiation and prayers for the good ...

(Encyclopedia) Ptolemaïs tŏləmāˈīs [key], ancient name given to several cities to honor members of the dynasty of the Ptolemies. One of these later became known as Akko, in modern Israel. Another was one of th...

(Encyclopedia) Philip II, 382–336 b.c., king of Macedon (359–336 b.c.), son of Amyntas II. While a hostage in Thebes (367–364), he gained much knowledge of Greece and its people. He was appointed regent for Am...

(Encyclopedia) Sloane, William Milligan, 1850–1926, American historian. After serving as secretary to George Bancroft and studying under Droysen in Germany, he was professor of history at Princeton (1883–96) and...

(Encyclopedia) oracle, in Greek religion, priest or priestess who imparted the response of a god to a human questioner. The word is also used to refer to the response itself and to the shrine of a god. Every oracula...