Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Demeter dĭmēˈtər [key], in Greek religion and mythology, goddess of harvest and fertility; daughter of Kronos and Rhea. She was the mother of Persephone by Zeus. When Pluto abducted Persephone, De...

(Encyclopedia) Manship, Paul Howard, 1885–1966, American sculptor, b. St. Paul, Minn., studied at St. Paul Institute of Arts, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the American Academy at Rome. He often went ...

(Encyclopedia) Agamemnon ăˌgəmĕmˈnŏn [key], in Greek mythology, leader of the Greek forces in the Trojan War; king of Mycenae (or Argos). He and Menelaus were sons of Atreus and suffered the curse laid upon Pe...

(Encyclopedia) silenus sīlēˈnəs [key], in Greek mythology, part bestial and part human creature of the forests and mountains. Part of Dionysus' entourage, the sileni are usually represented as aged satyrs—drun...

(Encyclopedia) Popol Vuh pōpōlˈ vo͞oˈ [key] [Quiché,=collection of the council], sacred book of the Quiché. The most important document of the cosmogony, religion, mythology, migratory traditions, and history...

(Encyclopedia) Erechtheus ĕrĕkˈthēəs [key], in Greek mythology, king of Athens. On the advice of an oracle he sacrificed one of his daughters during the battle between the Athenians and the Eleusinians. This en...

(Encyclopedia) In, symbol for the element indium. ...

(Encyclopedia) Meleager mĕlēāˈjər [key], hero in Greek mythology. He was the son of Oeneus, king of Calydon, and Althaea. When Meleager was born, a prophecy said that he would die when a certain log in the fire...

(Encyclopedia) sparrow, common name of various small brown-and-gray perching birds. New World birds called sparrows are members of the finch family. They were named for their resemblance to the English sparrow and t...

(Encyclopedia) Persephone prōsûrˈpənē [key], in Greek and Roman religion and mythology, goddess of fertility and queen of the underworld. She was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. When she was still a beautiful...