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cuckoo

(Encyclopedia)cuckoo, common name for members of the extensive avian family Cuculidae, including the ani and the roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus), widely distributed in temperate and tropical regions. Cuckoos a...

oratory

(Encyclopedia)oratory, the art of swaying an audience by eloquent speech. In ancient Greece and Rome oratory was included under the term rhetoric, which meant the art of composing as well as delivering a speech. Or...

Stoicism

(Encyclopedia)Stoicism stōˈĭsĭzəm [key], school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium (in Cyprus) c.300 b.c. The first Stoics were so called because they met in the Stoa Poecile [Gr.,=painted porch], at Athe...

Alexander the Great

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Empire of Alexander the Great (including dependencies) Alexander the Great or Alexander III, 356–323 b.c., king of Macedon, conqueror of much of Asia. Whether or not Alexander had plans fo...

Neoplatonism

(Encyclopedia)Neoplatonism nēˌōplāˈtənĭzəm [key], ancient mystical philosophy based on the doctrines of Plato. Neoplatonism was an early influence on Christian thinkers. The Christian apologists Clement...

Thessaloníki

(Encyclopedia)Thessaloníki sălənēˈkə, səlŏnˈĭkə [key], also known as Thessalonike, Thessalonica, Salonika, and Saloniki, city (1991 pop. 383,967), capital of Thessaloníki prefecture, N Greece, in Macedo...

botany

(Encyclopedia)botany, science devoted to the study of plants. Botany, microbiology, and zoology together compose the science of biology. Humanity's earliest concern with plants was with their practical uses, i.e., ...

tragedy

(Encyclopedia)tragedy, form of drama that depicts the suffering of a heroic individual who is often overcome by the very obstacles he is struggling to remove. The protagonist may be brought low by a character flaw ...

Greek literature, modern

(Encyclopedia)Greek literature, modern, literature written in Greek in the modern era, primarily beginning during the period of rebellion against the rule of the Ottoman Empire. In general, 20th-century Greek lit...

Abelard, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Abelard, Peter pyĕr äbālärˈ [key], 1079–1142, French philosopher and teacher, b. Le Pallet, near Nantes. A theological Platonist, Abelard emphasized Aristotle's dialectic method. His belief t...