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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 ...

druids

(Encyclopedia)druids dro͞oˈĭdz [key], priests of ancient Celtic Britain, Ireland, and Gaul and probably of all ancient Celtic peoples, known to have existed at least since the 3d cent. BC. Information about them...

Babylon, ancient city, Mesopotamia

(Encyclopedia)Babylon băbˈəlŏn [key], ancient city of Mesopotamia. One of the most important cities of the ancient Middle East, it was on the Euphrates River and was north of the cities that flourished in S Mes...

onion

(Encyclopedia)onion, plant of the family Liliaceae (lily family), of the same genus (Allium) as the chive (A. schoenoprasum), garlic (A. sativum), leek (A. porrum), and shallot (A. ascalonium). These plants are cha...

Phidias

(Encyclopedia)Phidias or Pheidias both: fĭdˈēəs [key], c.500–c.432 b.c., Greek sculptor, one of the greatest sculptors of ancient Greece. No original in existence can be attributed to him with certainty, alth...

public ownership

(Encyclopedia)public ownership, government ownership of lands, streets, public buildings, utilities, and other business enterprises. The theory that all land and its resources belong ultimately to the people and th...

genealogy

(Encyclopedia)genealogy jēˌnēŏlˈəjē, –ălˈ–, jĕ– [key], the study of family lineage. Genealogies have existed since ancient times. Family lineage was originally transmitted through oral tradition and...

Hirst, Damien Steven

(Encyclopedia)Hirst, Damien Steven, 1965–, British artist-provacateur, b. Bristol. While at Goldsmiths College, London (grad. 1988), he organized the exhibition Freeze, whose participants, led by Hirst, became kn...

irrigation

(Encyclopedia)irrigation, in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e...

map

(Encyclopedia)map, conventionalized representation of spatial phenomena on a plane surface. Unlike photographs, maps are selective and may be prepared to show various quantitative and qualitative facts, including b...
 

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