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sin, in religion

(Encyclopedia)sin, in religion, unethical act. The term implies disobedience to a personal God, as in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and is not used so often in systems such as Buddhism where there is no persona...

Neptune, in Roman religion and mythology

(Encyclopedia)Neptune, in Roman religion and mythology, god of water. He was presumably an indigenous god of fertility, but in later times he was identified with the Greek Poseidon, god of the sea. At his festival,...

Silvanus

(Encyclopedia)Silvanus, in Roman religion, ancient pastoral deity, protector of uncultivated lands. It was also said that he was the guardian of field boundaries, flocks, and herds. Like the Greek Pan, with whom he...

Frigg

(Encyclopedia)Frigg or Frigga, Norse mother goddess and the wife of Odin (Woden). One of the most important goddesses of Germanic religion, she was queen of the heavens, a deity of love and the household. She was o...

Arval Brothers

(Encyclopedia)Arval Brothers ärˈvəl [key], in Roman religion, college of 12 priests chosen from the most distinguished senatorial families. It was said that the original brothers were sons of Acca Larentia. Thei...

Quirinus

(Encyclopedia)Quirinus kwĭrˈĭnəs [key], in Roman religion, an early god, possibly of war. Worshiped originally by the Sabines, he was one of the chief gods of ancient Rome, associated with Jupiter and Mars. In ...

Fortuna

(Encyclopedia)Fortuna fôrto͞oˈnə [key], in Roman religion, goddess of fortune. Worshiped under several forms, she appears to have originally been a goddess of fertility. She was later identified with Tyche, the...

Tabb, John Banister

(Encyclopedia)Tabb, John Banister, 1845–1909, American poet, b. Amelia co., Va. He was converted to Roman Catholicism in 1872 and entered the priesthood in 1884. His poems on nature and religion are simple and po...

sun worship

(Encyclopedia)sun worship. Deification and adoration of the sun occurred primarily in agrarian societies. When man became a farmer, and thus dependent upon daily and seasonal changes of weather, he often turned to ...

Prudentius

(Encyclopedia)Prudentius (Aurelius Clemens Prudentius) pro͞odĕnˈshəs [key], b. 348, Christian Latin poet, b. Spain. He wrote a number of hymns, occasional Christian lyrics, and poems on saints. Although he held...
 

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