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Mornay, Philippe de, seigneur du Plessis-Marly

(Encyclopedia)Mornay, Philippe de, seigneur du Plessis-Marly fēlēpˈ də môrnāˈ sānyörˈ dü plĕsēˈ-märlēˈ [key], 1549–1623, diplomat and publicist for the French Protestants, or Huguenots, during th...

Babism

(Encyclopedia)Babism bäˈbĭzəm [key], system of doctrines proclaimed in Persia in 1844 by Ali Muhammad of Shiraz. Influenced by the Shaykhi Shiite theology that viewed the Twelve Imams as incarnations of the Div...

voodoo

(Encyclopedia)voodoo vo͞oˈdo͞o [key] [from the god Vodun], native W African religious beliefs and practices that also has adherents in the New World. Voodoo believers are most numerous in Haiti, where voodoo was...

blue laws

(Encyclopedia)blue laws, legislation regulating public and private conduct, especially laws relating to Sabbath observance. The term was originally applied to the 17th-century laws of the theocratic New Haven colon...

Gela

(Encyclopedia)Gela jāˈlä [key], city, S Sicily, Italy, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a port, industria...

column

(Encyclopedia)column, vertical architectural support, circular or polygonal in plan. A column is generally at least four or five times as high as its diameter or width; stubbier freestanding masses of masonry are u...

Milon

(Encyclopedia)Milon, Greek athlete: see Milo.

Laocoön

(Encyclopedia)Laocoön lāŏkˈōŏn [key], in Greek mythology, priest of Apollo who warned the Trojans not to touch the wooden horse made by the Greeks during the Trojan War. While he and his two sons were sacrifi...

Three Young Men

(Encyclopedia)Three Young Men, in the Book of Daniel, the three men cast by Nebuchadnezzar into the fiery furnace and delivered by an angel. Their names are Abed-nego, Shadrach, and Meshach, in Babylonian; Azariah,...

Timoleon

(Encyclopedia)Timoleon tĭmōˈlēən [key], d. after 337 b.c., Greek statesman and general, noted as the scourge of tyrants. A Corinthian, he went (344) with a small army to Syracuse in answer to the appeal of the...