Paradise: Did you mean...?

Menelaus (also Menelaos) is a figure from ancient Greek mythology and literature who was the king of Sparta and the husband of beautiful Helen, whose abduction by the Trojan prince Paris sparked off the legendary Trojan War. The story...

The Fertile Crescent, often called the 'cradle of civilization', is the region in the Middle East that curves like a quarter-moon shape from the Persian Gulf through modern-day southern Iraq, Syria...

People in the Middle Ages have acquired something of a bad reputation when it comes to cleanliness, especially the peasantry. However, despite the general lack of running water and other modern amenities, there were common expectations...

Ferdinand Magellan, or Fernão de Magalhães (c. 1480-1521), was a Portuguese mariner whose expedition was the first to circumnavigate the globe in 1519-22 in the service of Spain. Magellan was killed on the voyage in what is...

The Ankh is one of the most recognizable symbols from ancient Egypt, known as "the key of life" or "cross of life" and dated to the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3150 - 2613 BCE). It is a cross with a loop at the top sometimes ornamented...

Apophis (also known as Apep) is the Great Serpent, enemy of the sun god Ra, in ancient Egyptian religion. The sun was Ra's great barge which sailed through the sky from dawn to dusk and then descended into the underworld. As it sailed...

The 'Near East' is a modern-age term for the region formerly known as the 'Middle East,' comprising Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and part of Turkey, corresponding...

The Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 BCE) is considered ancient Egypt's Classical Age, during which it produced some of its greatest works of art and literature. Scholars remain divided on which dynasties...

Empress Wu Zetian (Empress Consort Wu, Wu Hou, Wu Mei Niang, Mei-Niang, and Wu Zhao, l. 624-705 CE, r. 690-704 CE) was the only female emperor of Imperial China. She reigned during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) and was one of the most...

Moses (c. 1400 BCE) is considered one of the most important religious leaders in world history. He is claimed by the religions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Bahai as an important prophet of God and the founder of monotheistic belief...