Beauty: Did you mean...?

Gold, chemical symbol Au (from the Latin aurum meaning 'shining dawn'), is a precious metal which has been used since antiquity in the production of jewellery, coinage, sculpture, vessels and as a decoration for buildings, monuments...

Circe (also spelt Kirké) is a powerful sorceress and goddess in Greek mythology with an exceptional talent for mixing drugs. She was the daughter of the sun god Helios and the Oceanid Perseis. Circe's home was found on the wooded island...

Cleopatra Selene II (40 - c. 5 BCE) was a member of the Ptolemaic Dynasty who became the queen of Mauretania upon her marriage to King Juba II of Numidia (48 BCE - 23 CE). Though more obscure than her famous mother, Cleopatra...

Parthian art flourished within the Eurasian cultural corridor from the late hundreds BCE to the early 1st and 2nd centuries CE. With the Parthian Empire (247 BCE - 224 CE) stretching from India and China in the east to the Mediterranean...

Calliope (also spelt Kalliope) is the Muse of epic poetry and heroic song in Greek mythology. She is considered the leader of the Muses and the most honoured of them all. She is often represented in art with a tablet on her knee and...

Atreus was the mythical Greek king of Mycenae. He is perhaps best known for being the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus, two heroes of the Trojan War, as well as for the terrible curse placed upon his family. This was a hereditary curse...

Faras was an important town near Abu Simbel in southern Egypt/northern Kush (modern-day Sudan). It was a center of trade and administrative offices which was founded between 2040-1750 BCE. In the New Kingdom (1550-1070 BCE) a temple to...

Lakshmi (or Laksmi) is the Hindu goddess of wealth, good fortune, youth, and beauty. She is the wife of the great god Vishnu and the pair is often worshipped in tandem as Lakshmi-Narayana. Just as her husband has many avatars when he...

Zoe Porphyrogenita was empress of the Byzantine Empire from 1028 CE until her death in 1050 CE. In an eventful career, she reigned alongside three husbands, had a hand in the succession of her adopted son, and...

Nasta 'liq is one of the styles of Islamic calligraphy that was developed on Persian grounds by Persian calligraphers. The art of calligraphy has always held a prominent position in Persia, and its usage extends beyond the limits...