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Palmyra, atoll, Pacific Ocean

(Encyclopedia)Palmyra, atoll (2 sq mi/5.2 sq km), central Pacific, one of the Line Islands, c.1,100 mi (1,770 km) SW of Honolulu. Palmyra has no permanent inhabitants. First visited by Americans in 1802, and later ...

Minerva

(Encyclopedia)Minerva mĭnûrˈvə [key], in Roman religion, goddess of handicrafts and the arts. Probably of Etruscan origin, she was worshiped in various parts of ancient Rome, most notably with Jupiter and Juno ...

Bona Dea

(Encyclopedia)Bona Dea bōˈnə dēˈə [key], in Roman religion, ancient fertility goddess worshiped only by women; also called Fauna. She was said to be the daughter, sister, or wife of Faunus. No man could be pr...

Britomartis

(Encyclopedia)Britomartis brĭtˈōmärˈtĭs [key], in ancient religion and mythology, Cretan goddess, sometimes identified with Artemis. To escape the amorous pursuit of Minos, she jumped into the sea, but fisher...

Tithonus

(Encyclopedia)Tithonus tĭthōˈnəs [key], in Greek mythology, prince of Troy; son of Laomedon. He was loved by the dawn goddess, Eos, who bore him Memnon. When Eos begged Zeus to bestow immortality upon Tithonus,...

Anchises

(Encyclopedia)Anchises ănkīˈsēz [key], in Greek mythology, member of the ruling family of Troy; father of Aeneas by Aphrodite. When Anchises boasted of the goddess's love, Zeus crippled or, in some versions of ...

sandalwood

(Encyclopedia)sandalwood, name for several fragrant tropical woods, especially for Santalum album, an evergreen partially parasitic tree either native to India or introduced there centuries ago. It is used for joss...

Eris, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Eris, in astronomy, the largest known dwarf planet. Eris, whose highly eccentric elliptical orbit ranges from 38 AU to 97 AU and is inclined more than 44°, is the largest known object of the Kuiper b...

Japan Current

(Encyclopedia)Japan Current or Kuroshio ko͝orōshēˈō [key][Jap.,=black stream], warm ocean current of the Pacific Ocean, off E Asia. A northward flowing branch of the North Equatorial Current, it runs E of Taiw...

Armstrong, Samuel Chapman

(Encyclopedia)Armstrong, Samuel Chapman, 1839–93, American educator, philanthropist, and soldier, b. Hawaiian Islands, of missionary parents, grad. Williams, 1862. He served in the Union army in the Civil War, ri...