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Anastasius I

(Encyclopedia)Anastasius I ănəstāˈshəs, –zhəs [key], c.430–518, Roman emperor of the East (491–518); successor of Zeno, whose widow he married. He broke the power that the Isaurians had enjoyed since Le...

epicureanism

(Encyclopedia)epicureanism ĕpˌĭkyo͝orēˈənĭzˌəm [key], philosophy that follows the teachings of Epicurus, who held that pleasure is the end of all morality and that real pleasure is attained through a life...

Leo I, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Leo I, d. 474, Byzantine or East Roman emperor (457–74). Chosen by the senate to succeed Marcian, he sought to counteract the preponderance of Germans in the Roman army by enlisting Isaurians. A nav...

Stoicism

(Encyclopedia)Stoicism stōˈĭsĭzəm [key], school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium (in Cyprus) c.300 b.c. The first Stoics were so called because they met in the Stoa Poecile [Gr.,=painted porch], at Athe...

Chrysippus

(Encyclopedia)Chrysippus krĭsˈĭpəs [key], c.280–c.207 b.c., Greek Stoic philosopher, b. Soli, Cilicia. He was a disciple of Cleanthes and succeeded him as head of the Academy in Athens. After Zeno, the founde...

Eleatic school

(Encyclopedia)Eleatic school ēlēătˈĭk [key], Greek pre-Socratic philosophical school at Elea, a Greek colony in Lucania, Italy. The group was founded in the early 5th cent. b.c. by Parmenides, its greatest thi...

Metastasio, Pietro

(Encyclopedia)Metastasio, Pietro pyĕˈtrō mātästäˈzēō [key], 1698–1782, Italian poet and librettist, whose original name was Antonio Bonaventura Trapassi. A prodigy at poetic improvisation, he became cour...

stoa

(Encyclopedia)stoa stōˈə [key], in ancient Greek architecture, an extended, roofed colonnade on a street or square. Early examples consisted of a simple open-fronted shed or porch with a roof sloping from the ba...

Ostrogoths

(Encyclopedia)Ostrogoths (East Goths), division of the Goths, one of the most important groups of the Germans. According to their own unproved tradition, the ancestors of the Goths were the Gotar of S Sweden. By th...

Mantegna, Andrea

(Encyclopedia)Mantegna, Andrea ändrĕˈä mäntĕˈnyä [key], 1431–1506, Italian painter of the Paduan school. He was adopted by Squarcione, whose apprentice he remained until 1456, when he procured his release...

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