Without quite intending to, Martin Luther changed the course of Christianity and Western history. His 1517 complaint against specific abuses in the Roman Catholic church -- a document now known as…
(Encyclopedia) AmbiorixAmbiorixămbīˈərĭks [key], fl. 54 b.c., Gallic chieftain of the Eburones (in what is now central Belgium). He had been favorably treated by the Romans, but he joined another…
Marcus Tullius Cicero Roman orator, philosopher, and politicianBorn: 106 B.C. Cicero was the most famous of all Roman orators. He held a variety of political posts and was known as an opponent of…
(Encyclopedia) AsculumAsculumăˈsky&oobreve;ləm [key], ancient town, Apulia, SE Italy, 18 mi (29 km) S of Foggia, on a branch of the Appian Way. Here Pyrrhus won a hard-fought battle against the…
(Encyclopedia) VolsiniiVolsiniivŏlsĭnˈēī [key], ancient city of Etruria, Italy, on the site of modern Orvieto. It was a powerful member of the Etruscan League, and the spirit of the league was broken…
(Encyclopedia) TheudasTheudasthy&oomacr;ˈdăs [key], leader of insurgents mentioned by Gamaliel, and probably to be identified with the Theudas who organized a revolt against the Romans when Fadus…
(Encyclopedia) Villa Doria PamphiliVilla Doria Pamphilivēlˈlä dôˈryä pämˈfēlē [key], Roman villa, built in the 17th cent. for Camillo Pamphili, nephew of Pope Innocent X, from plans designed by…
(Encyclopedia) AmpliasAmpliasămpˈlēəs [key] or AmpliatusAmpliatusămplēāˈtəs [key], Christian in Rome to whom Paul sent greetings in his Letter to the Romans.
(Encyclopedia) North, Sir Thomas, 1535?–1601?, English translator. He is famous for his translation of Plutarch, entitled Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans (1579), which he made from the French…
(Encyclopedia) AvenchesAvenchesäväNshˈ [key], anc. Aventicum, town, Vaud canton, W Switzerland. During the 1st and 2d cent. a.d., Avenches flourished under the Romans as the chief town of Helvetia.
