Phoenix: Did you mean...?

Dogs have been an integral aspect of the human condition in virtually every world culture for thousands of years. Some of the greatest civilizations of the past have kept dogs as companions, for various chores, and featured dogs in their...

The literary works of William Shakespeare (l. c. 1564-1616) are often regarded as some of the most important in the English language. Alongside his famous plays, he also wrote poems, including 154 sonnets. Included here are six of the best-known...

Goguryeo (Koguryo) ruled northern Korea during the Three Kingdoms period from the 1st century BCE to 7th century CE, and the best evidence of the kingdom's prosperity and artistry can be found in the many surviving tombs of the period. The...

A diaspora is a large group of people with a similar heritage or homeland who have since moved from their original homelands to another country. In terms of ethnicity, they share a common language, worldviews, myths, religious concepts and...

Possibly being overjoyed by the tales of mythical exploits of Heracles, Semiramis, the fabled queen of Assyria, Cyrus, King of Persia and so on, Alexander the Great set out from the tiny kingdom of Macedon for a daring adventure, unheard...

As you'll have noticed, the United Kingdom doesn't include Hanover. However, from 1714 to 1837 both were ruled by the same monarchs and unlike Scotland and England prior to this, the two never unified and in fact they soon went their own...

Kirin (Qilin), bronze statue at the Summer Palace in Beijing, China. Here, the qilin has a dragon-like head with two horns, cloven hooves, and fire emanating from its chunky, scaled body. Throughout history, the qilin can be found in Chinese...

A gilt-bronze incense burner from the Baekje (Paekche) Kingdom of ancient Korea. The base is in the form of a dragon which supports a heavenly mountain decorated with heavenly beings and clouds. A phoenix sits atop the lid. 4th-7th century...

A gold crown of the Silla kingdom, Korea. From the Auspicious Phoenix Tomb, Geumseong (Gyeongju), 5-6th century CE. The crown is made of sheet-gold and decorated with granulation and crescent-shaped jade pendants. The tree-like upright parts...

Kinkakuji Temple or the "Temple of the Golden Pavilion" was constructed in the 1390s CE as the retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (r. 1368–1394 CE). It is comprised of a three-story pavilion — covered in luxurious gold leaf...