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Diagoras of Rhodes

(Encyclopedia)Diagoras of Rhodes, ancient Greek athlete, fl. 5th cent. b.c. A boxer and wrester, he won an Olympic championship in 464 b.c. and won numerous times at the Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean games. Pindar ...

Salamis, island, Greece

(Encyclopedia)Salamis, island, E Greece, in the Saronic Gulf, W of Athens. It early belonged to Aegina but was later under Athenian control, except for a brief period after it was occupied (c.600 b.c.) by Megara. I...

Ptolemaïs, town, Greece

(Encyclopedia)Ptolemaïs ptôlĭmīsˈ [key], town (1991 pop. 25,195), N Greece, in Macedonia. It was a small market town until 1958, when it began to be developed as an industrial center. Lignite, mined there in v...

Alpheus, river, Greece

(Encyclopedia)Alpheus älfēôsˈ [key], river, c.70 mi (110 km) long, rising in the Taygetus Mts., S Greece. The longest river in the Peloponnesus, it flows northwest through gorges, past Olympia, and onto the Oly...

Síros, island, Greece

(Encyclopedia)Síros sīˈrŏs [key], island (1991 pop. 19,870), 33 sq mi (85 sq km), SE Greece, in the Aegean Sea, one of the Cyclades. Ermoupolis, or Síros, is the island's main town and port. Síros is the rich...

Pontus, ancient country, Asia

(Encyclopedia)Pontus, ancient country, NE Asia Minor (now Turkey), on the Black Sea coast. On its inland side were Cappadocia and W Armenia. It was not significantly penetrated by Persian or Hellenic civilization. ...

Veneti, people of ancient Italy

(Encyclopedia)Veneti, people of ancient Italy. They occupied the shore of the Adriatic from Trieste to the mouth of the Po River and spoke an Illyrian language. Friendly toward Rome, they came under Roman rule in t...

Mílos, island, Greece

(Encyclopedia)Mílos mēˈlō, mīˈ– [key], mountainous island (1991 pop. 4,390), 58 sq mi (150 sq km), SE Greece, in the Aegean Sea; one of the Cyclades. The main town is Mílos, formerly known as Plaka. The is...

Kadesh, ancient city of Syria

(Encyclopedia)Kadesh kāˈdĕsh [key], ancient city of Syria, on the Orontes River. There Ramses II fought (c.1300 b.c.) the Hittites in a great battle that ended in a truce. ...

Greek literature, ancient

(Encyclopedia)Greek literature, ancient, the writings of the ancient Greeks. The Greek Isles are recognized as the birthplace of Western intellectual life. The next period of Greek literature reached its zenith i...