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Piedras Negras, ancient city, Guatemala

(Encyclopedia)Piedras Negras pyāˈᵺräs nāˈgräs [key] [Span.,=black stones], ruined city of the Classic era of the Maya, NW Petén, Guatemala, in the Usumacinta valley. Reaching a peak of sculptural achieveme...

Hesychius of Alexandria

(Encyclopedia)Hesychius of Alexandria hēsĭkˈēəs [key], fl. 5th cent.?, Alexandrian grammarian. Hesychius is known as the compiler of an invaluable lexicon, a glossary of unusual words and expressions occurring...

hockey, field

(Encyclopedia)hockey, field, outdoor stick and ball game. Field hockey, like many sports, is of obscure origins, but traces in one form or another to the ancient Egyptians and Persians, making it one of the world's...

Messene

(Encyclopedia)Messene mĕsēˈnē [key], ancient city, central Messenia (now Messinías prov.), Greece. It was founded (c.369 b.c.) under Theban auspices to be a capital and fort for the Messenians, whom the battle...

Pythian games

(Encyclopedia)Pythian games pĭthˈēən [key], in ancient Greece, games held at Delphi every four years (the third of each Olympiad). They included musical, literary, and athletic contests. The games honored Apoll...

Pendelikón

(Encyclopedia)Pendelikón pĕntĕˈlĭkəs [key], mountain, c.3,670 ft (1,120 m) high, central Greece, NE of Athens. The white marble quarried there was used for many buildings of ancient Athens. Marble is still ta...

Trípolis

(Encyclopedia)Trípolis trēˈpôlĭs [key], town (1991 pop. 22,463), capital of Arcadia prefecture, S Greece, in the Peloponnesus. It is a transportation and agricultural center and a summer resort. A variety of l...

Marathon

(Encyclopedia)Marathon mârˈəthŏn [key], village and plain, ancient Greece, 20 mi (32 km) NE of Athens. Here the Athenians and Plataeans under Miltiades defeated a Persian army in 490 b.c. (see Persian Wars). ...

Sífnos

(Encyclopedia)Sífnos sĭfˈnəs [key], island, c.32 sq mi (83 sq km), SE Greece, in the Aegean Sea; one of the Cyclades. It is a resort area and produces olive oil. In ancient times it had gold and silver mines. ...

Rogge, Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Rogge, Jacques zhäk rōˈkhə [key], 1942–, Belgian sports executive, b. Ghent. An orthopedic surgeon with a degree in sports medicine, Rogge is an accomplished sailor who competed in Olympic yacht...