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Hathor

(Encyclopedia)Hathor hăthˈôr [key], in Egyptian religion, celestial goddess of love and festivity. The personification of the sky, she was represented as a star-studded cow or as a woman with the head of a cow. ...

Ptah

(Encyclopedia)Ptah ptä [key], in Egyptian religion, great god of Memphis. He was one of the important gods of ancient Egypt and, according to Memphite theology, created the universe through the thought of his hear...

Book of the Dead

(Encyclopedia)Book of the Dead, term used to describe Egyptian funerary literature. The texts consist of charms, spells, and formulas for use by the deceased in the afterworld and contain many of the basic ideas of...

phoenix, in mythology

(Encyclopedia)phoenix, fabulous bird that periodically regenerated itself, used in literature as a symbol of death and resurrection. According to legend, the phoenix lived in Arabia; when it reached the end of its ...

Apis

(Encyclopedia)Apis āˈpĭs [key], in Egyptian religion, sacred bull of Memphis, said to be the incarnation of Osiris or of Ptah. His worship spread throughout the Mediterranean world and was particularly important...

Neith

(Encyclopedia)Neith nēt [key], in Egyptian religion, goddess of hunting and war. Her cult was very popular during the XXVI dynasty, particularly at Saïs. She also assumed the attributes of a mother goddess and wa...

religion, freedom of

(Encyclopedia)religion, freedom of: see Constitution of the United States. ...

Religion, Wars of

(Encyclopedia)Religion, Wars of, 1562–98, series of civil wars in France, also known as the Huguenot Wars. The immediate issue was the French Protestants' struggle for freedom of worship and the right of establis...

Dodona

(Encyclopedia)Dodona dōdōˈnə [key], in Greek religion, the oldest oracle, in inland Epirus, near modern Janina, sacred to Zeus and Dione. According to Herodotus, an old oak tree there became an oracle when a bl...

Thoth

(Encyclopedia)Thoth thŏth, tōt [key], in Egyptian religion, god of wisdom and magic. A patron of learning and of the arts, he was credited with many inventions, including writing, geometry, and astronomy. Perhaps...