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Definition
Horyuji
The Horyuji Temple near Nara in Japan was founded in 607 CE by Prince Shotoku and is the only surviving Buddhist monastery from the Asuka Period in its original state. The complex, consisting of 48 listed buildings including a 5-storey pagoda...
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Hercules Receives the Poisoned Robe
Red-figure pottery depicting Hercules who receives the poisoned robe with Nessus' blood. c. 430 BCE
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Hall of Dreams, Horyuji
The hall of Dreams or Yumedono of the Buddhist Horyuji monastery, Nara, Japan. 739 CE.
Book Review
Dreams of El Dorado: A History of the American West
El Dorado, the legendary city of gold, is used as an allusion by H. W. Brands in his recent book to describe how 19th-century Americans viewed the land west of the Mississippi River. One could describe the history of the United States with...
Book Review
The Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky: A History of the Chinese Experience in Montana
When thinking about early Chinese American history, people often point to the Transcontinental Railroad and California's Gold Rush. However, Chinese residents also built their communities in the American Midwest. Mark T. Johnson's research...
Article
The Myth of Etana
The Myth of Etana is the story of the Sumerian antediluvian King of Kish who ascends to heaven on an eagle to request the Plant of Birth from the gods so that he might have a son. Etana is named as the first king of Kish in the Sumerian King...
Definition
Centaur
A centaur was a creature from Greek mythology which was half-man and half-horse. The head, arms and torso of a centaur were human and joined at the waist to the body and legs of a horse. Centaurs represented barbarism and unbridled chaos...
Article
The Mesopotamian Pantheon
The gods of the Mesopotamian region were not uniform in name, power, provenance or status in the hierarchy. Mesopotamian culture varied from region to region and, because of this, Marduk should not be regarded as King of the Gods in the same...
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...
Definition
Baldr
Baldr is a god in Norse mythology associated with light, wisdom, and courage, although he is never specifically defined as the god of any of these. He is best known for his dramatic death, which heralds the coming of Ragnarök, the end of...