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The History Channel - Encyclopedia Category: History and Culture > History Date & country: 02/12/2007, UK Words: 25833

Epimetheus
In Greek mythology, brother of the Titan Prometheus and husband of Pandora, a creation of the gods whom he had married against his brother's advice. When Pandora opened a box given to her by Zeus,...

Epinay, Louise Florence Pénille
(1726-1783) French writer. Her publications include Mes Moments heureux/My Happy Moments 1758, Lettres à mon fils/Letters to My Son 1759, Conversations d'Emilie/Emily's Conversations 1774, and Mémoires et...

Epiphany
Festival of the Christian church, held on 6 January, celebrating the coming of the Magi (wise men) to Bethlehem with gifts for the infant Jesus. It is the 12th day after Christmas, and marks the end...

Epirus
Region of northwestern Greece; area 9,200 sq km/3,551 sq mi; population (1991) 339,200. Its capital is Yannina, and it consists of the provinces (nomes) of Arta, Thesprotia, Yannina, and Preveza....

episcopacy
In the Christian church, a system of government in which administrative and spiritual power over a district (diocese) is held by a bishop. The Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and...

Episcopalianism
US term for the Anglican communion. ...

epistemology
Branch of philosophy that examines the nature of knowledge and attempts to determine the limits of human understanding. Central issues include how knowledge is derived...

epistle
Letter, particularly an open literary letter or letter in the form of a poem. In the New Testament, the Epistles are 21 letters to individuals or to the members of various churches written by...

epode
In Greek drama, part of the chorus; in poetry, a form of lyric. In drama, the strophe was sung while the chorus moved to the right, then the antistrophe while they moved to the left, followed by the...

Epona
In Celtic mythology, goddess of horses and stables, worshipped by Celtic units in the Roman army. She is often associated with the downland white horses carved in chalk hillsides. ...

equal opportunities
The right to be employed or considered for employment without discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, or physical or mental disability. In 1946 a Royal Commission in the UK favoured equal pay...

Equal Opportunities Commission
Commission established by the UK government in 1975 (1976 in Northern Ireland) to implement the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. Its aim is to prevent discrimination, particularly on...

Equal Pay Act 1970
Act of Parliament which lays down that a woman must receive the same pay and conditions of work as a male worker in similar employment. Equal Rights Amendment
Proposed amendment to the US Constitution to provide for the equality of sexes under the law, originally proposed in 1923 by Alice Paul, a leader of the women's suffrage movement. The equality
In political theory, the condition of being equal or the same in given respects, as advocated, for example, in liberalism, socialism, and the women's movement. The efforts of these and other...

Equatorial Guinea
Country in west-central Africa, bounded north by Cameroon, east and south by Gabon, and west by the Atlantic Ocean; also five offshore islands including Bioko, off...

equestrian order
In ancient Rome, originally the census (property) class of equites, consisting of those citizens (including senators) with enough wealth to serve as cavalry in the army, although they often also...

Equiano, Olaudah
(c. 1745-1797) African antislavery campaigner and writer. He travelled widely as a free man. His autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African (1789), is...

Equicola, Mario
(c. 1470-1525) Italian humanist and courtier. He was secretary to Isabella d'Este, and his letters and accounts of his travels with her give a valuable insight into Italian court life in the early 16th century....

equites
Latin form for Equestrian order, originally the cavalry of the ancient Roman army, and later an elite Roman business class. ...

Equity
Common name for the British Actors' Equity Association, the UK trade union for professional actors in theatre, film, and television, founded in 1929. In the USA its full name is the American Actors'...

equity
A company's assets, less its liabilities, which are the property of the owner or shareholders. Popularly, equities are stocks and shares which do not pay interest at fixed rates but pay dividends...

equity
System of law supplementing the ordinary rules of law where the application of these would operate harshly in a particular case; sometimes it is regarded as an attempt to achieve `natural...

ER
US television drama series, broadcast by the NBC network from 1994. It depicts the professional and personal lives of the medical staff at the emergency room of an inner-city hospital in Chicago,...

Erasmus Prize
Prize awarded annually since 1958 to outstanding contributors to international understanding, usually in social or cultural fields. Previous winners include Martin Buber, Herbert Read, Robert...

Erasmus, Desiderius
(c. 1469-1536) Dutch scholar and leading humanist of the Renaissance era, who taught and studied all over Europe and was a prolific writer. His pioneer translation of the Greek New Testament (with parallel Latin...

Erastianism
Belief that the church should be subordinated to the state. The name is derived from Thomas Erastus (1534-1583), a Swiss-German theologian and opponent of Calvinism, who maintained in his...

Erastus, Thomas
(1524-1583) Swiss theologian. At the conferences of Heidelberg (1560) and Maulbronn (1564) he upheld the Zwinglian doctrine of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper as a merely symbolical...

Erato
In Greek mythology, the Muse of erotic poetry and mime. Her symbol was the lyre. ...

Erceldoune, Thomas of
(c. 1220-1297) Scottish poet and seer. A great number of prophetic sayings were attributed to him, from which he was given the name of True Thomas; he was said in 1286 to have predicted the death of...

Ercilla y Zúñiga, Alonso de
(1533-1594) Spanish soldier and poet. His epic poem La Araucana (1569-89) describes a campaign against the Araucanians in Chile. Although of uneven quality, it contains fine descriptions of Latin American...

Erckmann-Chatrian
Literary signature of two French writers who collaborated in their work:Emile Erckmann (1822-1899) and Louis Gratien Charles Alexandre Chatrian (1826-1890). Their novels, often describ ...

Erdrich, (Karen) Louise
(1954) Chippewa writer. She gained her MA at Johns Hopkins University. Her writing has won many prizes and awards, and her books include Love Medicine (1984), The Beet Queen (1986), Tracks (1988), and...

Erebus
In Greek mythology, the god of darkness; also the intermediate subterranean region between upper Earth and Hades through which the spirits (shades) passed. Erebus was the son of primordial Chaos,...

Erechtheum
Temple in Athens, Greece, situated to the north of the Parthenon on the Acropolis. Completed about 405 BC, it was built of marble on sloping ground. It is asymmetrical in design, with porches...

Erechtheus
Legendary king of Athens. According to legend, when Eumolpus attacked Athens in support of the Eleusinians, Erechtheus inquired of the oracle how his people could win the war. The oracle told him...

Erhard, Ludwig
(1897-1977) German economist and Christian Democrat politician, chancellor of the Federal Republic 1963-66. He became known as the `father of the German economic miracle`. As economics minister 1949-63...

Eric Bloodaxe
King of Norway, succeeded 942 on the abdication of his father, Harald I Fairhair, and killed seven of his eight half-brothers who had rebelled against him, hence...

Eric the Red
(c. 950-1010) Allegedly the first European to find Greenland. According to a 13th-century saga, he was the son of a Norwegian chieftain, and was banished from Iceland in about 982 for murder. He then sailed...

Erichthonius
Legendary king of Athens, son of the Greek god of fire, Hephaestus, and Ge, the goddess of the Earth. When he was a baby, Athena put him in a chest and entrusted him to the daughters of Cecrops, the...

Ericsson, Leif
Norse explorer; see Leif Ericsson. ...

Eridanus
In Greek mythology, the river into which Phaethon fell when struck down by Zeus. Originally placed beyond the limits of the Greek world, it was later, by both Greek and Roman authors, identified...

Eridu
Ancient city of Mesopotamia of about 5000 BC, according to tradition the cradle of Sumerian civilization. On its site is now the village of Tell Abu Shahrain, Iraq. ...

Erie
Member of an American Indian people who lived by Lake Erie (now New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania). They comprised several sub-tribes, such as the Kentaientonga, Honniasont (or Black Minqua), and...

Erim, Kenan Tevfig
(1929-1990) Turkish-born US historian and archaeologist. From 1961 he began to excavate the city of Aphrodisias in Turkey while teaching at New York University. In his efforts to conserve and protect the...

Erinna
(lived 4th or 3rd century BC) Greek poet who probably lived on the island of Telos and died at the age of 19. Three epigrams attributed to her are preserved in the Palatine Anthology. Erinna was most famous for her...

Erinyes
In Greek mythology, another name for the Furies, spirits of vengeance, principally of murder within the family, but also of other breaches of the natural order. ...

Eris
In Greek mythology, the personification of strife, companion of the war-god Ares and a daughter of Night (Nyx). She was known to the Romans as Discordia. In later tradition, Eris was held...

Eritrea
Country in East Africa, bounded north by Sudan, south by Ethiopia, southeast by Djibouti, and east by the Red Sea. Government At independence in 1993, a transitional government was established for a...

Eriugena, John Scottus
(c. 810-c. 877) Irish theologian, philosopher, translator, and poet, whose views were condemned as heretical by the Catholic Church. From about 845 he was employed at the court of the French king Charles (II) the...

Erl-King
In Germanic folklore, the king of the elves. First appearing in late 18th-century German literature, he is depicted as a bearded giant with a golden crown, who inhabited the Black Forest and lured...

Erlander, Tage Fritiof
(1901-1985) Swedish politician. Elected to parliament as a Social Democrat in 1933, he was minister without portfolio in the wartime coalition government from 1944, and was minister for ecclesiastical affairs...

ERM
Abbreviation for Exchange Rate Mechanism. ...

Erment
Modern name for ancient town Hermonthis in Upper Egypt. ...

Ermine Street
Ancient road of Roman origin, or possibly earlier, running from London to York, and by extension to southern Scotland. The name is also applied to the Silchester to Gloucester route. Ermine Street,...

Ernest (I) the Pious
(1601-1675) 1st Duke of Saxe-Gotha. He served in the Thirty Years War, and in 1640 won possession of the Duchy. He turned Gotha into a model state, with compulsory education for all, a small and early example...

Ernst, Max
(1891-1976) German artist, a major figure in Dada and...

Eros
In Greek mythology, the child-god of love, traditionally armed with bow and arrows. He was the son of Ershad, Hussain Muhammad
(1930) Military ruler of Bangladesh 1982-90. He became chief of staff of the Bangladeshi army in 1979 and assumed power in a military coup in 1982. As president from 1983, Ershad introduced a successful...

Erskine, John
(1879-1951) US educator and novelist. His academic career was mainly spent as professor of English at Columbia, where he emphasized the study of the classics. In his satirical novels, he took legends, such as...

Erskine, John
(1695-1768) Scottish jurist. He was called to the Bar in 1719. After a distinguished legal career, he was made professor of Scots law at the University of Edinburgh in 1757, and...

Erskine, John, of Dun
(1509-1591) Scottish religious reformer. Fellow Protestant reformers, George Wishart and John Knox, were his personal friends, and all through the reign of Mary Queen of Scots, and part of the following reign,...

Erskine, Ralph
(1914-2005) English-born architect. He settled in Sweden in 1939. He specialized in community architecture before it was named as such. A deep social consciousness and a concern to mould building form in...

Erskine, Thomas
(1750-1823) British barrister and lord chancellor. He was called to the Bar in 1778 and defended a number of parliamentary reformers on charges of sedition. When the Whig Party returned to power 1806 he became...

Erté
(1892-1990) Russian designer and illustrator. He was active in France and the USA. An exponent of art deco, he designed sets...

Ervin, Sam(uel James), Jr
(1896-1985) US senator. In the Senate, he opposed civil rights legislation, supported the Vietnam War, and generally favoured conservative causes. He presided over the Watergate committee investigation (1973),...

Erzberger, Matthias
(1875-1921) German politician. Long a hate figure for the German right, he first attracted controversy as an advocate of peace without annexations in 1917. Subsequently, as a member of t ...

Erzurum, capture of
During World War I, capture of city in northeastern Turkey by the Russians February 1916. It remained in Russian hands until recaptured by the Turks March 1918 following the collapse...

Es-Sa'id, Nuri
(1888-1958) Iraqi politician, prime minister 1930-58. In 1921 he became Iraq's first chief of general staff and a year later defence minister. From 1930 he filled t ...

Esarhaddon
(died 669 BC) King of Assyria from 680 BC, when he succeeded his father Sennacherib. He conquered Egypt 674-671 BC. ...

Esau
In the Old Testament, the son of Isaac and Rebekah, and the hirsute elder twin brother of Jacob. Jacob tricked the blind Isaac into giving him the blessing intended...

eschatology
Doctrines of the end of time. Christian eschatology concerns the end of this Earth and of time; the resurrection of the dead; the Antichrist; the return of Jesus Christ to overthrow the Antichrist;...

escheat
In feudal society, the reversion of lands to the lord in the event of the tenant dying without heirs or being convicted for treason. By the late Middle Ages in Western Europe, tenants had insured...

Escher, M(aurits) C(ornelis)
(1898-1972) Dutch graphic artist. His prints are often based on mathematical concepts and contain paradoxes and illusions. The lithograph Ascending and Descending (1960), with interlocking staircases creating a...

Escobar y Mendoza, Antonio
(1589-1669) Spanish theologian. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1604, and was recognized before long as one of the most outstanding advocates of Jesuit doctrine and methods in the field of moral theology. In...

Escobar, Pablo Gaviria
(1949-1993) Colombian drug dealer, racketeer, and politician. From humble beginnings he became the leader of an international drugs cartel based in the city of Medellín. His activities, which included...

Escorial, El
Monastery and palace standing over 900 m/2,953 ft above sea level on a southeastern slope of the Sierra de Guadarrama, 42 km/26 mi northwest of Madrid, Spain. El Escorial was built (1563-84) for...

escrow
In law, a document sealed and delivered to a third party and not released or coming into effect until some condition has been fulfilled or performed, whereupon the document takes full effect. ...

Esdaile, Arundell James Kennedy
(1880-1956) British librarian and bibliographer. He became an assistant at the British Museum in 1903, and was secretary from 1926 until he retired in 1940. Esdaile was a scholar of varied interests, making...

Esherick, Wharton
(1887-1970) US woodworker, artist, and sculptor. He was initially a painter and sculptor, but his style emphasized twisted organic forms that seemed to grow naturally, and he turned increasingly to working with...

Eshkol, Levi
(1895-1969) Israeli politician, prime minister 1963-69. A prominent Zionist and member of the centre-left Mapai party (the Israeli Labour party), he served as...

Eskimo
Algonquian term for Arctic peoples meaning `eater of raw meat`, now considered offensive. See Inuit. ...

Esna
Town in Egypt, about 53 km/33 mi south of the ruins of Thebes, on the left bank of the Nile. It has ruins of an ancient temple to the ram-headed god Khnum, built in the time of the Ptolemies but...

esotericism
Belief in an interior path where an individual gains insight and salvation from special knowledge (for example, ...

espionage
The practice of spying; a way to gather intelligence. ...

Espronceda, José de
(1808-1842) Spanish poet. Originally one of the Queen's guards, he lost his commission because of his political activities, and was involved in the Republican uprisings of 1835 and 1836. His lyric poetry and...

Esquiline Hill
One of the seven hills of Rome. It was the site of Nero's Golden House and the later baths of Trajan. ...

Esquiros, Henri-François-Alphonse
(c. 1812-1876) French poet, politician, and historian. He wrote both poems and novels of a strong socialist tendency, and was imprisoned for his L'Evangile du peuple 1840, a commentary on the life of Jesus. Among...

Esquivel, Manuel
(1940) Belizean politician, prime minister 1984-89 and from 1993. During his terms in office he was responsible for negotiating the reduction of UK military forces in Belize. Following a career in...

Essad Pasha
(c. 1875-1920) Albanian chieftain. He joined the Young Turk revolution in 1908, and from then until 1912 represented Durazzo in the Turkish parliament. When William of Wied became mpret (Albanian ruler) in 1914,...

essay
Short piece of non-fiction writing, often dealing with a particular subject from a personal point of view. The essay became a recognized form with the publication of Essais (1580) by French writer...

essence
In philosophy, all that makes a thing what it is and is indispensable to the thing. Philosophers have often distinguished nominal essences from real essences. A nominal essence is a group of terms...

Essex, James
(1722-1784) English architect, born at Cambridge. One of the first 18th-century architects to studyGothic construction and design, he restored many old buildings, including Ely and Lincoln cathedrals...

Establishment, the
A perceived elite of the professional and governing classes (judges, civil servants, politicians, and so on) who collectively symbolize authority and the status quo. ...

estate
In European history, an order of society that enjoyed a specified share in government. In medieval theory, there were usually three estates - the nobility, the clergy, and the commons- with the...

estate
In law, the rights that a person has in relation to any property. Real estate is an interest in any land;personal estate is an interest in any other kind of property. ...

Estaunié, Edouard
(1862-1942) French novelist. He became known with L'Empreinte 1895, suggested by his Jesuit education. Other works, mostly psychoanalytical and probing the mysteries of the soul, include Le Ferment, Solitudes,...

Este dynasty
Family who ruled Ferrara and Modena in northern Italy from the 13th century to the end of the 16th. Allied to other important families such as the Gonzaga, they played an important role in the...

Este, Isabella d'
(1474-1539) Italian noblewoman, a leading member of the powerful d'Este dynasty. In 1490 she married Gianfrancesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua. A skilled diplomat, she protected the interests of Mantua and...

Esterházy, Schloss
Palace of the princes Esterházy in the city of Eisenstadt, Austria. Originally a medieval stronghold, it was rebuilt in the baroque style 1663-72. Under the patronage of the Esterházys, the...