Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Periander

(Encyclopedia)Periander pĕrˈēănˌdər [key], d. 585 b.c., one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece, tyrant of Corinth. His rule raised his city to a high state of prosperity, and he established friendly relations wi...

Benjamin of Tudela

(Encyclopedia)Benjamin of Tudela to͞odāˈlä [key], d.1173, rabbi considered the first European to approach the borders of China, b. Tudela, Spain. He traveled (1159–73) through Italy, Greece, Palestine, Persia...

Lesbos

(Encyclopedia)Lesbos lāzˈvôs [key], island (1991 pop. 87,151), c.630 sq mi (1,630 sq km), E Greece, in the Aegean Sea near Turkey. A fertile island, it has vast olive groves and also produces wheat, wine, and ci...

Athos

(Encyclopedia)Athos –tā [key], easternmost of the three peninsulas of Khalkidhikí, c.130 sq mi (340 sq km), NE Greece, in Macedonia. The narrow, northern base of the peninsula was once cut by canal dug by the P...

Achaean League

(Encyclopedia)Achaean League əkēˈən [key], confederation of cities on the Gulf of Corinth. The First Achaean League, about which little is known, was formed presumably before the 5th cent. b.c. and lasted throu...

Theodorakis, Mikis

(Encyclopedia) Theodorakis, Mikis , 1925-2021, Greek composer and politician, b. Chios island, Greece, Athens Conservatoire (1950). Theodorakis showed interest in mus...

Cyclades

(Encyclopedia)Cyclades sīˈklədēz [key], Gr. Kikládhes [Gr.,=circular], island group, c.1,000 sq mi (2,...

Évvoia

(Encyclopedia)Évvoia yo͞obēˈə [key], island, 1,467 sq mi (3,800 sq km), SE Greece, separated from Boeo...

Battenberg

(Encyclopedia)Battenberg bătˈənbûrg [key], German princely family, issued from the morganatic union of Alexander, a younger son of Louis II, grand duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Countess Julia von Hauke, who was ...

Árta

(Encyclopedia)Árta ămbrāˈshə [key], city, capital of Árta prefecture, W Greece, in Epirus, near the mouth of the Arachtus River. It is a trading and shipping center for agricultur...