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In Search of the Promised Land: Saint Brendan’s Voyage
Between the 9th and the 10th century CE, in an unknown European abbey, an anonymous author told the story of an Irish monk and his 14 companions who embarked on a dangerous journey in the 5th century CE. The monk's name was Brendan, and his...
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Knights of the Round Table Begin Search for the Holy Grail
"Knights of the Round Table Set Forth on the Search for the Holy Grail" was painted c. 1893-1905 CE. The painting depicts the legendary King Arthur's knights of the Round Table embarking on their quest to recover the Holy Grail. It is part...
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Diogenes in Search of an Honest Man
An 18th century CE painting showing Diogenes of Sinope looking for an honest man (Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein - Nagel Auktionen)
Definition
René Descartes
René Descartes (1596-1650) was a French mathematician, natural scientist, and philosopher, best known by the phrase 'Cogito ergo sum' ('I think therefore I am'). He published works on optics, coordinate geometry, physiology, and cosmology...
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Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson (c. 1570-1611) was an English navigator and maritime explorer. He is known for his four voyages between 1607 and 1610 in search of a northwest passage via the Arctic Ocean to the Far East. The lure of a northwest passage became...
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Inanna and Su-kale-tuda
Inanna and Su-kale-tuda (c. 1800 BCE) is a Mesopotamian myth dealing with rape and justice in ancient Sumer. The work has been interpreted as an astral myth or a figurative account of the rise of the southern states against Akkad, but the...
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The French Exploration of New Zealand
The French exploration of New Zealand has been overshadowed by the achievements of British navigator Captain James Cook (1728-1779), but French navigators who visited Aotearoa's (New Zealand) shores named over 100 geographical places and...
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10 Years of Ancient History Encyclopedia
Ancient History Encyclopedia's CEO Jan van der Crabben writes about the organization's 10-year history. Ancient History Encyclopedia just turned ten! On 25 August 2009, we officially launched the Ancient History Encyclopedia website by...
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Gunpowder Plot
The 1605 Gunpowder Plot was a failed attempt by pro-Catholic conspirators to blow up the English Parliament on 5 November and kill King James I of England (r. 1603-1625) and the entire nobility along with him. The plot was discovered when...
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De Officiis
De Officiis is a treatise written by Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 – 43 BCE), Roman statesman and orator, in the form of a letter to his son just after the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE. Strongly influenced by stoicism, De Officiis...