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Craxi, Bettino

(Encyclopedia)Craxi, Bettino bətēˈnō krăˈksē [key], 1934–99, Italian political leader. Craxi joined the Italian Socialist party in 1957, eventually becoming deputy secretary (1970) and general secretary (1...

Venus, in Roman religion and mythology

(Encyclopedia)Venus, in Roman religion and mythology, goddess of vegetation. Later, she became identified (3d cent. b.c.) with the Greek Aphrodite. In imperial times she was worshiped as Venus Genetrix, mother of A...

Poitiers

(Encyclopedia)Poitiers pwätyāˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 82,507), capital of Vienne dept., W central France, on the Clain River. The ancient capital of Poitou, it is now an industrial, agricultural, and communicati...

Nantes, Edict of

(Encyclopedia)Nantes, Edict of, 1598, decree promulgated at Nantes by King Henry IV to restore internal peace in France, which had been torn by the Wars of Religion; the edict defined the rights of the French Prote...

Decius

(Encyclopedia)Decius (Caius Messius Quintus Decius) dēˈshəs [key], 201–51, Roman emperor (249–51), b. Pannonia. He was sent by Philip (Philip the Arabian) to quell a mutiny, but when the soldiers hailed him ...

Furies

(Encyclopedia)Furies or Erinyes ērĭnˈē-ēz [key], in Greek and Roman religion and mythology, three daughters of Mother Earth, conceived from the blood of Uranus, when Kronos castrated him. They were powerful di...

Whately, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Whately, Richard hwātˈlē [key], 1787–1863, English prelate and writer. Fellow and tutor of Oriel College, Oxford, he published a witty work aimed at extreme skeptics, Historic Doubts Relative to ...

Egyptian religion

(Encyclopedia)Egyptian religion, the religious beliefs of the ancient inhabitants of Egypt. Information concerning ancient Egyptian religion is abundant but unsatisfactory. Only certain parts of Egyptian religious ...

Protestant Union

(Encyclopedia)Protestant Union, in German history, an alliance of German Protestant leaders of cities and states, founded in 1608 for the avowed purpose of defending the lands, person, and rights of each individual...

Kronos

(Encyclopedia)Kronos or Cronus both: krōˈnəs [key], in Greek religion and mythology, the youngest Titan, son of Uranus and Gaea. With the help of his mother, he led the Titans in the revolt against Uranus and ru...
 

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