Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Nemean lion

(Encyclopedia)Nemean lion nĭmēˈən [key], in Greek mythology, an enormous lion, said to be the offspring of Echidna and Typhon. It was invulnerable to all weapons until Hercules, in his first labor, strangled it...

Raamses

(Encyclopedia)Raamses rāămˈsēz [key], in the Bible, city of the eastern delta of Egypt, built by Hebrew slave labor. It was rebuilt by Ramses II. The Ramses in the books of Genesis and Numbers is the region of ...

International Ladies Garment Workers Union

(Encyclopedia)International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), former U.S. labor union, formed in 1900 by the amalgamation of seven local unions. At the turn of the century most of the workers in the garment ind...

Ebner-Eschenbach, Marie, Baronin von

(Encyclopedia)Ebner-Eschenbach, Marie, Baronin von märēˈ bärōˈnĭn fən ābˈnər-ĕshˈənbäkh [key], 1830–1916, Austrian writer. She began writing lyrics and plays with small success, but in middle age a...

Costa, Lorenzo

(Encyclopedia)Costa, Lorenzo lōrĕnˈtsō kōˈstä [key], 1460–1535, Italian painter of the Ferrarese and Bolognese schools. Trained in the manner of such painters as Tura and Cossa, he modified the strident Fe...

Fair, James Graham

(Encyclopedia)Fair, James Graham, 1831–94, American financier, b. near Belfast, Ireland. He emigrated to America as a child, grew up on an Illinois farm, and went west in 1851 in search of gold. In partnership wi...

Lilith

(Encyclopedia)Lilith lĭlˈĭth [key], female demon of Jewish mythology, originally probably the Assyrian storm demon Lilitu. In Talmudic tradition many evil attributes were given to this supposedly nocturnal creat...

Megan's law

(Encyclopedia)Megan's law, in the United States, a state or federal statute that requires the notification of public organizations and private citizens when a convicted sex offender has been released from prison an...

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...

Agostino di Duccio

(Encyclopedia)Agostino di Duccio ägōstēˈnō dē do͞otˈchō [key], b. 1418, d. after 1481, Florentine sculptor. Agostino worked mainly in other parts of Italy; he carved marble narrative reliefs for the facade...

Browse by Subject