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Heywood, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Heywood, Thomas, 1574?–1641, English dramatist. A prolific writer, he claimed to have written and collaborated on more than 200 plays, most of which are now lost. Although he wrote dramas based on E...

Ewald, Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Ewald, Johannes yōhänˈəs āˈväl [key], 1743–81, Danish poet. Ewald's elegant verse made him the leading poet of his time. He studied for the ministry but soon turned to writing. His lyrical tr...

Medea

(Encyclopedia)Medea mĭdēˈə [key], in Greek mythology, princess of Colchis, skilled in magic and sorcery. She fell in love with Jason and helped him, against the will of her father, Aeëtes, to obtain the Golden...

Batavian Republic

(Encyclopedia)Batavian Republic, name for the Netherlands in the years (1795–1806) following conquest by the French during the French Revolutionary Wars. The United Provinces of the Netherlands were reconstituted...

Ino

(Encyclopedia)Ino īˈnō [key], in Greek mythology, daughter of Cadmus. She was the wife of Athamas, to whom she bore Learchus and Melicertes. She plotted to kill her stepchildren, Phrixus and Helle, but their mot...

Philoctetes

(Encyclopedia)Philoctetes fĭlŏktēˈtēz [key], in Greek mythology, son of Poias. He acquired, by gift, the bow and arrow of Hercules by lighting the pyre on which the hero was consumed alive. On his way to the T...

Pelias

(Encyclopedia)Pelias pēˈlēăs [key], in Greek mythology, usurper of the throne of Iolcus. He was the son of Tyro and Poseidon and the twin brother of Neleus. After his birth his mother married Cretheus, king of ...

Ares

(Encyclopedia)Ares ârˈēz [key], in Greek religion and mythology, Olympian god of war. He is usually said to be the son of Zeus and Hera; but in some legends he and Eris, his twin sister, were born when Hera touc...

Argus

(Encyclopedia)Argus ärˈgŏs, –gəs [key], in Greek mythology. 1 Many-eyed monster, also called Panoptes. He guarded Io after she had been changed into a heifer. After Hermes slew the monster, Hera took his eyes...

serpent

(Encyclopedia)serpent, term sometimes used to designate the larger species of snakes in mythology and folklore, a name often applied to any sinuous, crawling creature, chiefly to a snake. No sea serpents have been ...
 

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