Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Sussex, kingdom of

(Encyclopedia)Sussex, kingdom of, one of the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy (seven kingdoms) in England, located S of the Weald. It was settled in the late 5th cent. (according to tradition in 477) by Saxons under Ælle, wh...

Declaration of Independence

(Encyclopedia)Declaration of Independence, full and formal declaration adopted July 4, 1776, by representatives of the Thirteen Colonies in North America announcing the separation of those colonies from Great Brita...

Timon of Phlius

(Encyclopedia)Timon of Phlius flīˈəs [key], c.320–c.230 b.c., Greek skeptic philosopher, chief disciple of Pyrrho. Timon denied the possibility of certain knowledge and, like his master, taught that the philos...

Olives, Mount of

(Encyclopedia)Olives, Mount of, or Olivet ŏlˈĭvĕt [key], ridge, E of Jerusalem, mentioned in the Old Testament as the scene of David's flight from the city, Ezekiel's theophany, and Zechariah's prophecy, and in...

stream of consciousness

(Encyclopedia)stream of consciousness, in literature, technique that records the multifarious thoughts and feelings of a character without regard to logical argument or narrative sequence. The writer attempts by th...

Colossus of Rhodes

(Encyclopedia)Colossus of Rhodes kəlŏsˈəs [key], large statue of Helios, the sun god, destroyed by an earthquake in antiquity. Consider one of the Seven Wonders of the World by the ancients, it was built in par...

Hanover, house of

(Encyclopedia)Hanover, house of, ruling dynasty of Hanover (see Hanover, province), which was descended from the Guelphs and which in 1714 acceded to the British throne in the person of George I. George was the gra...

Gersoppa, Falls of

(Encyclopedia)Gersoppa, Falls of gərsŏpˈə [key], cataract of the Sharavati River, Karnataka state, SW India. It is one of the most spectacular natural beauties of India. The river cuts through the Western Ghats...

Frauds, Statute of

(Encyclopedia)Frauds, Statute of, basis of most modern laws requiring that certain promises must be in writing in order to be enforceable; it was passed by the English Parliament in 1677. In the United States, alth...

Anthemius of Tralles

(Encyclopedia)Anthemius of Tralles ănthēˈmēəs, trălˈēz [key], fl. 6th cent., Greek architect, engineer, and mathematician. By order of Emperor Justinian and with the aid of Isidorus of Miletus, he built (53...