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Argos, city, ancient Greece

(Encyclopedia)Argos ärˈgŏs, –gəs [key], city of ancient Greece, in NE Peloponnesus, 3 mi (4.8 km) inland from the Gulf of Argos, near the modern Nauplia. It was occupied from the early Bronze Age and is menti...

Magnesia, ancient cities, Lydia

(Encyclopedia)Magnesia măgnēˈzhə [key], two ancient cities of Lydia, W Asia Minor (now W Turkey). They were colonies of the Magnetes, a tribe of E Thessaly. One city (Magnesia ad Maeandrum), SE of Smyrna (Izmir...

Lydia, ancient country, Asia

(Encyclopedia)Lydia, ancient country, W Asia Minor, N of Caria and S of Mysia (now NW Turkey). The tyrant Gyges was the founder of the Mermnadae dynasty, which lasted from c.700 b.c. to 550 b.c. The little kingdom ...

Kish, ancient city, Mesopotamia

(Encyclopedia)Kish kĭsh [key], ancient city of Mesopotamia, in the Euphrates valley, 8 mi (12.9 km) E of Babylon and 12 mi (19 km) east of the modern city of Hillah, Iraq. It was occupied from very ancient times, ...

Laconia, ancient region, Greece

(Encyclopedia)Laconia lăsˌədēˈmən [key], ancient region, S Peloponnesus, Greece, bounded on the W by Messenia and on the N by Arcadia and Argolis. On the Eurotas (now Evrotás), the principal river, stood Spa...

Philemon, ancient Greek poet

(Encyclopedia)Philemon fīlēˈmən [key], c.360–c.265 b.c., Greek poet of the New Comedy. He was in ancient times considered second only to Menander. Fragments of his plays, originally numbering 97, survive. ...

Pontus, ancient country, Asia

(Encyclopedia)Pontus, ancient country, NE Asia Minor (now Turkey), on the Black Sea coast. On its inland side were Cappadocia and W Armenia. It was not significantly penetrated by Persian or Hellenic civilization. ...

Brutus, in ancient Rome

(Encyclopedia)Brutus bro͞oˈtəs [key], in ancient Rome, a surname of the Junian gens. Lucius Junius Brutus, fl. 510 b.c., was the founder of the Roman republic. He feigned idiocy to escape death at the hands of L...

Carthage, ancient city, N Africa

(Encyclopedia)Carthage kärˈthĭj [key], ancient city, on the northern shore of Africa, on a peninsula in the Bay of Tunis and near modern Tunis. The Latin name, Carthago or Cartago, was derived from the Phoenicia...

Canopus, city, ancient Egypt

(Encyclopedia)Canopus kənōˈpəs [key], ancient city of N Egypt, 12 mi (19 km) E of Alexandria. Canopus, the pilot of Menelaus' ship, was said to have died there. In Hellenistic times Canopus was known as a pleas...