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Pelopidas

(Encyclopedia)Pelopidas pĭlŏpˈĭdəs [key], d. 364 b.c., Theban general. When the Spartans seized the citadel of Thebes (now Thívai) in 382, he fled to Athens and prepared the coup that recovered the city (379)...

Lycurgus, founder of the Spartan constitution

(Encyclopedia)Lycurgus līkûrˈgəs [key], traditional name of the founder of the Spartan constitution. The earliest mention of him is in Herodotus. Nothing is known of his life—when he lived or if he was a real...

Draco, Athenian politician and law codifier

(Encyclopedia)Draco drāˈkŏn [key], fl. 621 b.c., Athenian politician and law codifier. Of his codification of Athenian customary law only the section dealing with involuntary homicide is preserved. From this and...

Aeschines

(Encyclopedia)Aeschines ĕˈskĭnēz [key], c.390–314? b.c., Athenian orator, rival of Demosthenes. Aeschines rose from humble circumstances and became powerful in politics because of his oratorical gifts. At fir...

essay

(Encyclopedia)essay, relatively short literary composition in prose, in which a writer discusses a topic, usually restricted in scope, or tries to persuade the reader to accept a particular point of view. Although ...

Marcellus

(Encyclopedia)Marcellus märsĕlˈəs [key], principal plebeian family of the ancient Roman gens Claudia. Marcus Claudius Marcellus, c.268–208 b.c., was consul five times. In his first consulship he fought (222) ...

biography

(Encyclopedia)biography, reconstruction in print or on film, of the lives of real men and women. Together with autobiography—an individual's interpretation of his own life—it shares a venerable tradition, meeti...

translation

(Encyclopedia)translation [Lat.,=carrying across], the rendering of a text into another language. Applied to literature, the term connotes the art of recomposing a work in another language without losing its origin...

Alexander the Great

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Empire of Alexander the Great (including dependencies) Alexander the Great or Alexander III, 356–323 b.c., king of Macedon, conqueror of much of Asia. Whether or not Alexander had plans fo...

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