Mystery Schools

PaThis is a lexicon someone created which I found online - kept here for refernce

Preface

While doing some research on ancient religious history I became aware that many recurrent terms and concepts were unknown to me. Also, although I had heard the names of most of the actors who shaped the history of that period, I knew little or nothing about them.

If only for no better reason I started to collect notes on both concepts and names. It was a very easy and pleasant task but, all the same, it took me a long time to do it.

I am aware that many concepts, and the biography of many important people, are missing. I would be grateful to the readers to send me their comments; I will take them into consideration in a second edition of this lexicon.

Introduction

Most of us would like to know what really happened in the past, how the people of that time lived, what they thought, and what they believed in.

We do not have all the answers to most of these questions. However, especially after the latest discoveries of old documents in Egypt and elsewhere, our knowledge has increased, books that were thought to have been destroyed for ever came to light again, and some answers can be given.

This Lexicon will not fully satisfy the curiosity of its readers but it is hoped that it will provide some indications and incites other people to continue the research.

Part : Concepts, Mystery Schools

1- Abba

Abba is an Aramaic name, meaning father.

2- Abbess

Abbess is the title of a superior of communities of nuns of the Benedictine Rule, of convents of the Second Order of St. Francis (Poor Clares), and of certain communities of canonesses. An abbess must be at least 40 years old to be elected and a professed nun for at least 10 years. Her election gives her the right to certain pontifical insignia: the ring and sometimes the crosier. In medieval times abbesses occasionally ruled double monasteries of monks and nuns and enjoyed various privileges and honours.

3- Abbey

An Abbey is a group of buildings housing a monastery or a convent, centred on a church or a cathedral, under the direction of an abbot or an abbess, and serving the needs of a self-contained religious community. The term abbey is also used loosely to refer to priories, smaller monasteries under a prior. In England, since the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII all that remains in many cases is the abbey church, now simply called an abbey (for instance Westminster Abbey). Monasteries developed in the Middle East and Greece from the hermits' huts, or lauras. Walls were built for defence, and the cells were later constructed against the walls, leaving a central space for church, chapels, fountain, and dining hall, or refectory. This Eastern type of monastery can be seen at Mt. Athos in Greece. The first European abbey was Montecassino in Italy, founded in 529 by St. Benedict of Nursia. An important building within the inner walls housed the novitiate and the infirmary. In the manner of an early isolation hospital, it had its own chapel, bathhouse, refectory, kitchen, and garden. The doctor's house, with its garden of essential medicinal herbs and with small sickrooms, was nearby. Buildings for the intensive agriculture practiced by most orders were to the south of the other buildings. Perhaps the most remarkable abbey was established by the Benedictines on the rocky island of Mont-Saint-Michel in 966.

4- Abbot

An Abbot is the superior of a monastic community that follows the Benedictine Rule (Benedictines, Cistercians, Camaldolese, Trappists) and of certain other orders (Premonstratensians, canons regular of the Lateran). The word derives from the Aramaic ab ("father"), or aba ("my father"), which in the Septuagint and in New Testament Greek was written abbas. St. Benedict of Nursia restored the word abbas in his rule, and to this concept of spiritual fatherhood he added the concept of patria potestas, authority wielded by a father according to Roman law. Thus, the abbot has full authority to rule the monastery in both temporal and spiritual matters. An abbot is elected by the chapter of the monastery in secret ballot. He must be at least 30 years old, of legitimate birth, professed at least 10 years, and an ordained priest. He is elected for life except in the English congregation, where he is elected for a term of 8-12 years. The election must be confirmed by the Holy See or by some other authority. The main privileges of an abbot are the rights to celebrate the liturgy according to pontifical rite, to give blessings normally reserved to a bishop, and to use the pontifical insignia.

5- Abomination

The word abomination generally refers to objects or practices abhorrent to Yahweh and opposed to the moral requirements and rituals of his religion.

6- Abraxas

Abraxas, or Abrasax, is a sequence of Greek letters considered as a word and formerly inscribed on charms, amulets, and gems in the belief that it possessed magical qualities. In the 2nd century AD, some Gnostic and other dualistic sects, which viewed matter as evil and the spirit as good and held that salvation came through esoteric knowledge, or gnosis, personified Abraxas and initiated a cult sometimes related to worship of the sun god. Basilides of Egypt, an early 2nd-century Gnostic teacher, viewed Abraxas as the supreme deity and the source of divine emanations, the ruler of all the 365 heavens, or circles of creation. The number 365 corresponds to the numerical value of the seven Greek letters that form the word Abraxas.

7- Acacian Schism

The Acacian Schism is the split between the patriarchate of Constantinople and the Roman See, caused by an edict by Byzantine patriarch Acacius. With the support of the Byzantine emperor Zeno, Acacius in 482 drew up an edict, the Henotikon (Greek: "Edict of Union"), to secure unity between orthodox Christians and monophysites. This edict incorporated the decisions of the general Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) and recognized Christ's divinity, but it omitted any reference to the orthodox distinction of Christ's human and divine essences, as enunciated by the Council of Chalcedon (451). These were concessions to the monophysites. The Henotikon was accepted in the East but Rome and the Western church rejected it. Acacius was deposed (484) by Pope Felix III. His excommunication was reaffirmed in 485 and extended to Acacius' followers, including a part of the Byzantine hierarchy. The condemnation by Pope Felix precipitated the Acacian Schism, which was not resolved until 519.

8- Acrostic

An acrostic refers to a group of phrases, words, or most often, verses, the first letters of which when taken consecutively form a word, name, phrase, or other predetermined entity. If a series of final or internal letters forms an additional such entity, it is termed a double acrostic.

9- Adamites

The Adamites were the members of a Gnostic sect mentioned by Epiphanius whose members tried to live as Adam before the Fall. They renounced marriage and worshipped in full nudity.

10- Adoptionism

The word Adoptionism describes two Christian heresies:

- The first developed in the 2nd and 3rd centuries also known as Dynamic Monarchianism. Dynamic Monarchianism held that Christ was a mere man, miraculously conceived, but constituted the Son of God simply by the infinitely high degree in which he had been filled with divine wisdom and power. Theodotus taught it at Rome about the end of the 2nd century before being excommunicated by Pope Victor. Artemon, who was excommunicated by Pope Zephyrinus, taught it later. About 260 it was again taught by Paul of Samosata. It is the belief of many modern Unitarians.

- The other began in the 8th century in Spain and known from the teaching of Elipandus, archbishop of Toledo. Elipandus referred to Christ in his humanity as "adopted son" in contradistinction to Christ in his divinity, who is the Son of God by nature. The son of Mary, assumed by the Word, thus was not the Son of God by nature but only by adoption. Opposition to this view of Christ led Pope Adrian I to intervene and condemn the teaching. Elipandus gained the support of Felix, bishop of Urgel. In 798 Pope Leo III held a council in Rome that condemned the "Adoptionism" of Felix and anathematised him. Felix was forced to recant in 799. Elipandus remained unrepentant and continued as archbishop of Toledo, but the Adoptionist view was abandoned after his death. It was temporarily revived in the 12th century in the teachings of Peter Abelard and his followers.

11- Aeons

In the beginning, the Gnostics believed that there was only the transcendent God, a male principle that existed for eternity with a female principle, the Ennoia (Thought). Together they produced two archetypes, Mind (male) and Truth (female). In their turn these principles produced thirty pairs of males and females known as Aeons who, together, constituted the Divine Realm, known as the Pleroma or Fullness.

12- Agape

In the New Testament, the Greek word Agape describes the fatherly love of God for man, as well as man's reciprocal love for God. The term extends to the love of one's fellow man. The Church Fathers used agape in the sense of "love feast" to designate both a rite (using bread and wine) and a meal of fellowship to which the poor were invited. Some scholars believe the agape was a form of the Lord's Supper and the Eucharist the sacramental aspect of that celebration. Others interpret agape as a fellowship meal held in imitation of gatherings attended by Jesus and his disciples.

13- Agnosticism

The word Agnosticism comes from the Greek agnostos, "unknowable". It describes the doctrine that humans cannot know of the existence of anything beyond the phenomena of their experience. The term has come to be equated with scepticism about religious questions in general and in particular with the rejection of traditional Christian beliefs under the impact of modern scientific thought.

14- Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei is translated in English as "Lamb Of God". It is a designation of Jesus Christ. It is based on the saying of John the Baptist: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" In the Roman Catholic liturgy the Agnus Dei is employed in the following text: "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us! Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us! Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace!" It comes between the Lord's Prayer and the Communion and sounds the themes of sacrifice and of adoration. It unites the sacrifice of the liturgy to the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross as the Lamb of God. Both Anglican and Lutheran liturgies have retained the Agnus Dei in their Eucharistic rites.

15- Agrapha

Agrapha are Jesus' sayings or words ascribed to Him only known to us in writing, but not recorded in the canonical gospels.

In 1897 and 1903 papyri containing such sayings were discovered at Oxyrhyncus, in what is now Egypt. A book of such sayings of Jesus was, in early traditions, attributed to Saint Matthew. These sayings represent the survival of an oral tradition that developed independently of the tradition embodied in the written Gospels. Most of the sayings are preserved in the Talmud, in the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, in the writings of the Fathers of the Church, and in various Muslim sources.

16- Akeldama (or Aceldama)

This is the name of the field allegedly bought by Judas Iscariot and the scene of his suicide.

17- Albanenses and Garatenses

In the second half of the 12th century the Cathari were in great strength in Bulgaria, Albania, and Slavonia. They divided into two branches, distinguished as the Albanenses (absolute dualists) and the Garatenses (moderate dualists).

18- Albigenses

The Albigenses, better known as Cathari, are the followers of the single most important heresy within the Christian church during the Middle Ages They were named after the town of Albi (Latin Albiga), in southern France, a major centre of the movement. The movement flourished in parts of France, Germany, and Italy during the 1100's and 1200's.

19- Alchemy

Alchemy is an ancient art that was practised above all in the Middle Ages. Alchemists looked for a substance that would transmute the common metals into gold or silver and to find a substance that would cure disease and lengthen life. Alchemy was in many ways the predecessor of modern science, especially the science of chemistry.

The concept of alchemy came from the Aristotelian doctrine that all things tend to reach perfection. Gold being thought to be perfect, it was assumed that gold was made out of other metals deep within the earth and that with sufficient skill and diligence an artisan could duplicate this process.

The birthplace of alchemy was ancient Egypt, in Alexandria, where it began to flourish in the Hellenistic period; simultaneously, a school of alchemy was developing in China. Early Greek philosophers proposed the first chemical theories for instance the theory advanced in the 5th century BC by Empedocles -that all things are composed of air, earth, fire, and water- was influential in alchemy. The Arabian alchemists worked with gold and mercury, arsenic and sulphur, and salts and acids used as chemical reagents. They believed that metals are compound bodies, made up of mercury and sulphur in different proportions

From the Arabs, alchemy moved to Spain and Europe. In Europe, the English monk Roger Bacon and the German philosopher Albertus Magnus believed in the possibility of transmuting inferior metals into gold. Thus, they sought to fabricate or discover a substance, the philosopher's stone, more perfect than gold, which could transfer the baser metals into gold. Roger Bacon believed that gold dissolved in aqua regia was the elixir of life. Albertus Magnus had a great mastery of chemistry. The Italian philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas, the Catalan churchman Raymond Lully, and the Benedictine monk Basil Valentine also did much for the progress of chemistry.

The best alchemist was 16th-century Swiss Philippus Paracelsus who believed that the elements of compound bodies were salt, sulphur, and mercury, representing, respectively, earth, air, and water; fire he regarded as imponderable, or nonmaterial.

After Paracelsus, the alchemists of Europe became divided into two groups. One group devoted itself to the scientific discovery of new compounds and reactions. The other group took up the visionary, metaphysical side of the older alchemy and developed it into a practice based on imposture, necromancy, and fraud.

Alchemy was associated with many religious beliefs. It was believed that the techniques used to make gold were symbolically related to death, corruption, regeneration, and resurrection. Alchemy and astrology became closely related because of the belief that each heavenly body represented and controlled a certain metal. Some thought the sun represented gold; the moon, silver; Mars, iron; Venus, copper; Jupiter, tin; Saturn, lead; and Mercury, the metal mercury, also called quicksilver.

20- Alexandria

Alexandria (Egypt) is a city in northern Egypt, in the Nile River delta. Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, founded the city in 332 BC.

In Alexandria the Jews came into contact with Greek learning, which profoundly influenced the later religious thought of the world; here the Greek translation of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint, was made before AD 100. Later philosophers attempted to fuse the doctrines of Christianity with the ideals of Greek philosophy.

Alexandria was made the capital of Egypt and the Ptolemies built many palaces; the Alexandrian Library and Museum were founded, and influential schools of philosophy, rhetoric, and other branches of ancient learning were established. During the early 3rd century BC, the Alexandria Library had almost 500,000 volumes, the largest collection of books in the ancient world. However, the collection was destroyed over several centuries.

21- Alpha and Omega

In Christianity, Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, used to designate the comprehensiveness of God, implying that God includes all that can be. In the New Testament Revelation to John, the term is used as the self-designation of God and of Christ. The reference in Revelation likely had a Jewish origin.

22- Altar

An altar is a surface or structure upon which a religious sacrifice is offered. Although the term is sometimes used simply to designate a centre for religious ritual or for the worship of deities, and although in many societies sacrifices are offered without an altar, altar and sacrifice are generally connected in the religious history of humanity.

The altar has been ascribed deep religious and symbolic significance. It has been considered a holy and revered object, a place hallowed by the divine presence, where contact and communication with deities and other spirits could be achieved. At the heart of all altar symbolism lies the idea that it is the centre or image of the universe. The ancient sages saw its different parts as representing the various sections of the universe and concluded that its construction was a repetition of creation. The altar, as a mound of earth, symbolized the sacred mother; its shape was compared with the body of a woman.

In Christianity the altar held important religious meaning: from a simple communion table, the altar became a symbol of Christ and was marked with five symbolic wounds at its consecration. The altar table in Christianity has been the focal point of unity, reverence, prayer, and worship.

23- Amalekites,

A warlike, nomadic tribe, that lived in the southwestern part of ancient Palestine from Judah to Egypt and in the Sinai from the time of the Exodus to the time of King Saul. They are not Israelites and probably lived in this region before the arrival of the Hebrews. Hostility existed between the tribe and the Israelites, and King Saul nearly annihilated them in the 11th century BC. David, king of Israel, later defeated them twice and the descendants of the survivors were finally exterminated in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah.

24- Amazons

In Greek mythology, the term Amazon describes the members of a race of women warriors. The story of the Amazons probably originated as a tale recurrent in many cultures, that of a distant land organized oppositely from one's own. The ascribed habitat of the Amazons necessarily became more remote as Greek geographic knowledge developed. Traditionally, one of the labours required of the Greek hero Heracles was leading an expedition to obtain the girdle of the Amazons' queen (Hippolyte), during which he was said to have conquered and expelled them from their district. Tales grew up to explain why, if the whole nation consisted of women, it did not die out in a generation. The most common explanation was that the Amazons mated with men of another people, kept the resulting female children, and sent the male children away to their fathers. The Amazons invaded Attica but were finally defeated, and Theseus married one of them, Antiope. In Hellenistic times the Amazons were associated with Dionysus, either as his allies or, more commonly, as his opponents.

25- Ambro

The word Ambro describes a raised platform used in early Christian churches for reading the Scriptures and other forms of Liturgy. Initially only one was used but, later on, a second one was introduced so that the Epistles and the Gospels could be read from the south and the north side at Eucharist.

26- Amen

Amen is a Hebrew form of affirmation, a solemn assent mainly in prayer.

27- Ammon, Ammonites

Amonite is a word that describes a group of people who lived in the Transjordanian territory. Their capital city was called Rabbah.

28- Amorites

This was an ancient aboriginal tribe of Canaanites who inhabited the country northeast of the Jordan River as far as Mount Hermon. In the 13th century BC, the Amorites defeated the Moabites, crossed the Jordan, conquered the Hittites, and overran Canaan to the sea. The Hebrews, under their leader Joshua, at Gibeon, defeated them.

The Amorites have been identified with the Amurru, a people who invaded Babylonia in the 21st century BC and two centuries later founded the first dynasty of Babylon.

29- Amos, Book of

Amos is the third of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the Minor Prophets, collected in one book under the Jewish canon titled The Twelve. The book is a collection of individual sayings and reports of visions. Whether Amos wrote personally this book is not known. Amos' message is primarily one of doom. Although Israel's neighbours do not escape his attention, his threats are directed primarily against Israel, which, he believes has neglected the worship of Yahweh to the worship of Canaanite gods. This belief prompts his polemic against the feasts and solemn assemblies observed by Israel. He also pronounces judgment on the rich for self-indulgence and oppression of the poor, on those who pervert justice, and on those who desire the day of Yahweh on which God will reveal his power, punish the wicked, and renew the righteous. That day, Amos warned, will be a day of darkness for Israel because of its defection from Yahweh. The book ends (9:8-15) with a promise of restoration for Israel.

30- Amphictiony

Amphictiony (also amphictyony) is a word of Greek origin meaning "dwellers around". In ancient Greece it described an association of neighbouring states formed around a religious centre. The most important was the Delphic Amphictyonic League at first formed of 12 tribes from around Thermopylae. The league was based on the shrine of Demeter but, later, it was linked with the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Member states sent deputies (pylagorai and hieromnemones) to a council (pylaia) that met twice a year and administered the temporal affairs of the shrines and their properties, supervised the treasury, and conducted the Pythian Games. In the 4th century BC the league rebuilt the Delphic temple. Although primarily religious, the league had a political influence through its membership oath and protected the member cities; the council could punish offenders and proclaim a sacred war against them. Other important amphictyonies were the Delian and the Calaurian composed of states around the Saronic Gulf.

31- Anamnesis

Anamnesis is a Greek word meaning "memorial". It is used to describe the commemoration of the passion of Christ.

32- Anaphora

Anaphora is a literary or oratorical device involving the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several sentences or clauses. Anaphora (sometimes called epanaphora) is used for emphasis in argumentative prose and sermons and in poetry.

Anaphorais also a Greek word meaning "offering"; it is used to describe the central prayer of the Eucharistic Liturgy.

33- Anathema

Anathema is a word of Greek origin meaning "to set up," or "to dedicate". In the Old Testament it describes a creature or object set apart for sacrificial offering whose profane use was strictly banned; they had to be destroyed. Old Testament describes the enemy and their besieged city anathema, since they were destined for destruction.

In the New Testament the meaning changed. For instance:

- The word anathema means a curse and the forced expulsion of one from the community of Christians.

- Anathema came to mean the severest form of excommunication that formally separated a heretic completely from the Christian church and condemned his doctrines.

34- Ancestor Worship

In some countries, deceased relatives who are believed to have become powerful spiritual beings or to have attained the status of gods are revered. It is based on the belief that ancestors are active members of society and are still interested in the affairs of their living relatives.

The cult of ancestors is common in many countries such as West African societies (the Bantu and the Shona), in Polynesia and Melanesia (the Dobu and the Manus), among several Indo-European peoples (the ancient Scandinavians, Romans, and Germans), and especially in China and Japan. Their ancestors are believed to have great authority, special powers to influence the course of events or to control the well being of their living relatives. Protection of the family is one of their main concerns. They are considered intermediaries between the supreme god, or the gods, and the people, and can communicate with the living through dreams and by possession. The attitude toward them is one of mixed fear and reverence. If neglected, the ancestors may cause disease and other misfortunes. Supplication, prayer, and sacrifice are ways through which the living can communicate with their ancestors.

Ancestor worship is a strong indication of the value placed on the household and of the strong ties that exist between the past and the present. The beliefs and practices connected with the cult help to integrate the family, to sanction the traditional political structure, and to encourage respect for living elders.

35- Anchorites, Anchoress

Anchorites and Anchoress are names of Greek origin meaning "to withdraw". It was used to describe persons who withdrew from society to lead an ascetic life of prayer. Later on, it was used to describe a person confined to a cell, very often attached to a parish church.

36- Animal Worship

This describes the veneration of an animal, generally because of its connection with a deity. The term was used in the west in a pejorative manner, and in ancient Greece and Rome, against theriomorphic religions -those religions whose gods are represented in animal form. Most common examples in primitive religions are not instances of worship of an animal. Instead, the sacred power of a deity was believed to be manifested in an animal seen as an epiphany or incarnation of the deity (for instance fertility deities were often represented as a bull). Animal symbolism in religious iconography and allegory has been used in associating certain qualities with certain animal species (wisdom with the owl). This associative factor does not imply that the animal itself was worshiped.

37- Animism

The term "Animism" implies a belief in spiritual beings. Among biologists and psychologists, animism refers to the view that the human mind is a nonmaterial entity that interacts with the body via the brain and nervous system. As a philosophical theory, animism is the doctrine that all objects in the world have an inner or psychological being.

Tylor defined animism in Primitive Culture as the general belief in spiritual beings and considered it "a minimum definition of religion." He asserted that all religions involve some form of animism and that primitive peoples, defined as those without written traditions, believe that spirits or souls are the cause of life in human beings; they picture souls as phantoms, resembling vapours or shadows, which can transmigrate from person to person, from the dead to the living, and from and into plants, animals, and lifeless objects.

Marett thought that primitive peoples must have recognised some lifeless objects and probably regarded only those objects that had unusual qualities or behaved in some seemingly unpredictable or mysterious way as being alive. He held that the ancient concept of aliveness was not sophisticated enough to include the notion of a soul or spirit residing in the object. Primitive peoples treated the objects they considered animate as if these things had life, feeling, and a will of their own, but did not make a distinction between the body of an object and a soul that could enter or leave it. Marett called this view "animatism".

38- Ankh

It is believed that the original image of the mythical Christian cross is the Egyptian cross known as the "ankh". The basic ankh is a circle above a "T" cross. As the cross that was used for crucifixion was "T" shaped and the early Christian saw Jesus' cross this way. The ankh would then have been seen as Jesus' cross below a circle.

39- Anno Domini

Anno Domini are Latin words meaning "in the year of the Lord or AD". This system of dating events was invented by Dionysius Exiguus (who died in 550); it is based on the presumed year of the Christ's birth, although it is now known that He was born most probably in 4BC.

40- Anointing

Anointing was done to persons and things. Anointing of the body was done with olive oil mixed with perfume. Kings were consecrated for their high office by having oil poured over their head.

41- Anomoeans

The Anomoeans (from Greek anomoios, "unlike") were members of a radical religious group of the 4th century that represented an extreme form of Aryanism, a Christian heresy that held that the essential difference between God and Christ was that God had always existed, while God created Christ. Aëtius, the founder of the Anomoeans, reasoned that the doctrine carried to its logical conclusion must mean that God and Christ could not be alike. Because agennesia ("self-existence") is a part of the essence of God, Christ could not be like God because he lacked this necessary quality. Aëtius' chief convert, and the second leader of the movement, was Eunomius. The movement grew under Eunomius and reached its peak under Eudoxius of Constantinople (dead in 370). It lasted until the second Council of Constantinople.

42- Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of human beings, of their physical character, evolutionary history, racial classification, historical and present-day geographic distribution, group relationships, and cultural history. Anthropology can be characterized as the naturalistic description and interpretation of the diverse peoples of the world.

43- Anthropomorphism

In religion, the word anthropomorphism means any statement that describes the deity as having a bodily form resembling that of human beings, or as possessing qualities of thought, will, or emotion similar to those of the humans. Any reference to the divine as having a human body is anthropomorphism. References to humanlike mental aspects are also regarded as anthropomorphisms (the will of God, the mind of God, the compassion of God, and even the love of God). The word anthropomorphism means literally "in the form of man". The best-known anthropomorphisms in religion are those of the ancient Greeks and Romans, whose gods resembled humans in almost everything, but their immortality, their places of residence, and their magical powers over nature. The classical Hebrew prophets were vigorous critics of the gross anthropomorphism of their day. However, although their authors took many of the anthropomorphisms in the Old Testament literally, many more are recognized and intended as poetic metaphors.

The concept formulated by the Greek philosopher Xenophanes says that making God in Man's image is a fallacy. He believed that if the animals could carve and draw they would represent gods after their own forms.

44- Antichrist

An antichrist is an opponent or antagonist of Christ but, also, a false Christ. The term was often used by the early Christians to describe any opponent or enemy of Christ, whether a person or power, or to a false claimant of the characteristics and attributes of Christ. The "false Christs" were predicted by Jesus to precede the coming of the Son of man. Antichrist is also identified with paganism. Often the Antichrist was identified with the Roman emperors Nero, Diocletian, Julian, and Caligula; with the Samaritan sorcerer Simon Magus; and with Muhammad, the founder of Islam. At the time of the Reformation, Protestants quite generally held the pope to be the Antichrist, and Roman Catholics regarded Martin Luther similarly. In the controversy between the Roman church and the Greek Church, the name was applied, by those who opposed them, to popes and Byzantine emperors.

45- Antioch, Council of

In AD 341, a non-ecumenical Christian church council was held at Antioch (modern Antakya, Turkey) on the occasion of the consecration of the emperor Constantine I's Golden Church there. It was the first of several 4th-century councils that attempted to replace orthodox Nicene theology with a modified Aryanism. In the presence of the Eastern emperor Constantius II and about 100 Eastern bishops, the council adopted four creeds to replace the Nicene, all of them to some degree unorthodox and omitting or rejecting the Nicene statement that Christ was "of one substance" (homoousios) with the Father. The disciplinary 25 canons of Antioch are generally thought to have come from this council, but some scholars believe they were the work of an earlier council (330) at Antioch.

46- Apocalyptic Literature

The world Apocalypse is generally understood as a prophetic description of the end of the world. This literary genre flourished from about 200 BC to AD 200, especially in Judaism and Christianity. At first it was to give hope to religious groups undergoing persecution or cultural upheavals. Apocalypses ("revelation") describe in cryptic language, understood by believers, the sudden, dramatic intervention of God in history on behalf of the faithful. Apocalyptic writers examine the present, determining whether current afflictions are fulfilments of past apocalyptic prophecies, but they concentrate mainly on the future overthrow of evil, on the coming of a messianic figure, and on the establishment of the Kingdom of God and of eternal peace and righteousness. The bad ones are consigned to hell and the righteous or elect as reigning with God, or a messiah in a renewed earth or heaven. The Book of Daniel in the Old Testament and the Revelation to John in the New Testament represent apocalyptic writing.

47- Apocatastasis

Apocatastasis is a Greek word for the doctrine that states that all creatures (men, angels and devils) will be saved at the end. This concept is found in Origen, Clement of Alexandria and Gregory of Nyssa. It was opposed by Augustine of Hippo and condemned by the Council of Constantinople in 543. It is known today as Universalism.

48- Apocrypha

Apocrypha means the books that are "hidden away" because they were supposed to contain mysterious or esoteric teaching to be communicated only to the initiated.

The word was given by the 5th-century biblical scholar Saint Jerome to the biblical books received by the church of his time as part of the Greek version of the Old Testament, but that were not included in the Hebrew Bible. In the Authorized, or King James, Version, the books are printed as an appendix or are omitted; Protestants do not consider them canonical.

The books included in the Septuagint that were excluded by the non-Hellenistic Jews from their canon were Judith, the Wisdom of Solomon, Tobit, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, and the two books of Maccabees. The Apocrypha includes also the two books of Esdras, additions to the Book of Esther, the Song of the Three Young Men, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, and the Prayer of Manasseh.

Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians still follow the Septuagint and include in the canon of the Bible all the Apocrypha, except the two books of Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh. They refer to the Protestant Apocrypha as deuterocanonical books and reserve the term Apocrypha for those books entirely outside the biblical canon, which Protestants call the pseudepigrapha.

The Apocrypha is important from a historical point of view as it shed valuable light on the period between the end of the Old Testament narrative and the opening of the New Testament. They are also important sources of information on the development of belief in immortality, the resurrection, and other questions of eschatology, as well as the increasing impact of Hellenistic ideas on Judaism.

49- Apocryphal New Testament

The Apocryphal New Testament is a collection of some early Christian writings (mainly from the 2d century AD which were not included in the New Testament) concerning Jesus and other people mentioned in the New Testament. All the New Testament apocrypha are pseudepigraphal, and most of them fall into the categories of acts, gospels, and epistles. There are also some apocalypses and some wisdom books. Most of these works arose from sects that had been or would be declared heretical, such as the Gnostics. Some of them argued against various heresies, and a few are neutral efforts to popularise the life of some saint or other early leader of the church, including a number of women. All sought through their writings, as well as through their preaching and missions, to win believers. Almost all works advocating beliefs that later became heretical were destined to denunciation and destruction. Heretical movements such as Gnosticism and Montanism produced many New Testament pseudepigrapha.

50- Apollinarianism

Apollinaris, bishop of Laodicea, created the heretical doctrine concerning the nature of Christ called Apollinarianism. With his father, Apollinaris the Elder, he wrote the Old Testament in the form of Homeric and Pindaric poetry and the New Testament in the style of Platonic dialogues after the Roman emperor Julian had forbidden Christians to teach the classics. Apollinaris denied the existence in Christ of a rational human soul, a position he took to combat Aryanism.

51- Apologists or Apologetics

The word Apologist describes the Christian writers, mainly of the second century, who wrote in defence of Christianity and criticised Greco-Roman culture. Many of their writings were addressed to Roman emperors, and were sent to government secretaries who could accept or reject them. Some of the apologies had the form of briefs written to defend Christians against accusations, especially the charges that their religion was novel or godless or that they engaged in immoral practices. The Apologists tried to prove the antiquity of their religion by emphasizing it as the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy; they argued that their opponents were really godless because they worshipped the gods of mythology; and they insisted on the philosophical nature of their own faith as well as its high ethical teaching. The Greek Apologists include Quadratus, Aristides, Justin Martyr, Tatian, Apollinaris (bishop of Hierapolis), Melito, Athenagoras, Theophilus, and Clement of Alexandria. Latin Apologists included Marcus Minucius Felix and Tertullian.

52- Apostasy

The word apostasy (Greek, "insurrection") means the abandonment of Christianity by a baptised person. In the early church it was one of the three unpardonable sins (the other two being murder and fornication). Apostasy is different from laxity in the practice of religion and from heresy, the formal denial of one or more doctrines of the Christian faith. In Roman Catholic canon law, it also refers to the abandonment of the religious state by a monk or nun who has taken perpetual vows and leaves the religious life without the appropriate dispensation.

53- Apostle Creed

The Apostle Creed, also called APOSTOLICUM, is a statement of faith used in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and many Protestant churches that is not recognized in the Eastern Orthodox churches. According to tradition, the 12 Apostles wrote it, but it actually developed from early interrogations of catechumens (persons receiving instructions in order to be baptized) by the bishop. The bishop would ask, "Dost thou believe in God the Father almighty?" and so forth through the major Christian beliefs. These statements, in an affirmative form, became the official Christian creed also known as baptismal creeds. The present text of the Apostles' Creed is similar to the baptismal creed used in the church in Rome in the 3rd and 4th centuries. It reached its final form in southwestern France in the 6th or 7th century and it replaced other baptismal creeds to be the official statement of faith of the entire Catholic Church in the West when Innocent III was pope (1198-1216).

54- Apostolic Fathers

Apostolic Father is the name given to any of the Greek Christian writers, several unknown, who were authors of early Christian works dating primarily from the late 1st and early 2nd centuries. Their works are the principal source for information about Christianity during the two or three generations following the Apostles. They were originally called apostolic men (Apostolici). The name Apostolic Fathers was first applied in the 6th century but the name was not commonly use until the 17th century. These writers include Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, Hermas, Barnabas, Papias, and the anonymous authors of the Didache, Letter to Diognetus, Letter of Barnabas, and the Martyrdom of Polycarp. Not everything written by the Apostolic Fathers is considered to be equally valuable theologically, but their writings are more valuable historically than any other Christian literature outside the New Testament.

55- Apostolici

Apostolici was the name of the members of an ascetiuc sect of the 3d and 4th centuries in Asia Minor. They were against marriage and private property. The apocryphal Acts of Andrew and Acts of Thomas were parts of their doctrine. They claimed to be the only Christians. They were also known as Apotactites ("renouncers").

56- Apotheosis

Apotheosis is a Greek word meaning deification of a human being, usually after death. The ancient Greek religion believed in heroes and demigods. Worship after death of historical persons or worship of the living as true deities occurred from time to time. Ancient monarchies often used polytheistic conceptions of divine or semi divine individuals in support of the dynasties. Ancestor worship, or reverence for the dead, was another factor, as was also mere flattery. The Romans, under the republic, had accepted only one official apotheosis, Quirinus having been identified with Romulus. The emperor Augustus broke with this tradition and had Julius Caesar recognized as a god, the first of a many deities as the tradition established by Augustus was followed for many emperors and was extended to some women of the imperial family including some imperial favourites. The worship of an emperor during his life was in general confined to the provinces. Apotheosis, after his death did not at once cease, even when Christianity was officially adopted.

57- Apotropaic

Apotropaic is a Greek word meaning "averted" and used to describe magical rites or articles (amulets) worn to avert evil.

58- Aramaeans

The Aramaeans were citizens of a tribe part of a confederacy that spoke a North Semitic language (Aramaic). Between the 11th and 8th century BC they occupied Aram, a large region in northern Syria. In the same period some of these tribes seized part of Mesopotamia. In the Old Testament the Aramaeans are said to be close to the Hebrews and living in northern Syria around Harran from about the 16th century BC. About 1030 BC a coalition of the southern Aramaeans, led by Hadadezer, king of Zobah, together with the Ammonites, Edomites, and the Aramaeans of Mesopotamia, attacked Israel but was defeated by King David. To the east the Aramaean tribes spread into Babylonia. By the 9th century the whole area from Babylon to the Mediterranean coast was in the hands of the Aramaean tribes -the biblical Chaldeans. Between Israel and Damascus, intermittent wars continued until Assyria captured Arpad, the centre of Aramaean resistance in northern Syria, in 740 BC, Samaria in 734 and Damascus in 732. Finally, the destruction of Hamath by Sargon II of Assyria in 720 marked the end of the Aramaean kingdoms of the west. Aramaeans along the lower Tigris River remained independent. In 626 a Chaldean general, Nabopolassar, proclaimed himself king of Babylon and joined with the Medes and Scythians to overthrow Assyria. In the New Babylonian, or Chaldean, empire, Chaldeans, Aramaeans, and Babylonians became largely indistinguishable. In religion, Aramaeans had Canaanite, Babylonian, and Assyrian gods, in addition to their own deities. Their chief god was Hadad, or Ramman (Old Testament Rimmon) and their chief goddess was Atargatis (Atar'ate), a fusion of two deities.

59- Aramaic

Aramaic is a Semitic language related to Hebrew. Originally the language of the Aramaeans, it was used, in many dialectical forms, in Mesopotamia and Syria before 1000 BC and later became the lingua franca of the Middle East. Aramaic survived the fall of Nineveh (612 BC) and Babylon (539 BC) and remained the official language of the Persian Empire (539-337 BC).

Before the Christian era, Aramaic had become the language of the Jews in Palestine. Jesus preached in Aramaic, and parts of the Old Testament and much of the rabbinical literature were written in that language. Christian Aramaic, usually called Syriac, developed an extensive literature, especially from the 4th to 7th centuries.

Aramaic began to decline in favour of Arabic at the time of the Arab conquest in the 7th century AD. Aramaic survives today in Eastern and Western dialects, mostly as the language of Christians living in a few little communities in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran.

60- Archdeacons

An Archdeacon is the chief administrative officer of a bishop. In the Middle Ages he often succeeded his bishop.

61- Archetype

Archetype is an image, ideal, or pattern that has come to be considered a universal model. Archetypes are found in mythology, literature, and the arts, and are important aspects of both philosophical and psychological thought.

The first aesthetic theory of any scope is that of Plato, who believed that reality consists of archetypes, or forms, beyond human sensation, which are the models for all things that exist in human experience. The objects of such experience are examples, or imitations, of those forms. The philosopher tries to reason from the object experienced to the reality it imitates; the artist copies the experienced object, or uses it as a model for the work.

62- Archimandrites

Archimandrite was the title of the head of a monastery, or group of monasteries, in the Eastern Churches. In modern times it also designate high administrative officials, not necessarily monks. They rank just below a bishop.

63- Archonites

A word that describes a school of Christian Gnosticism that was active also in Rome.

64- Archons

Of all the Aeons only the first, Mind, knew and understood the greatness of the Father and could behold him. The last and youngest Aeon, Sophia (Wisdom) wanted to have the same knowledge and contact with the Father. Without telling her male partner, she projected from her own being a flawed emanation known as the Demiurge who created the material cosmos and saw himself as the absolute God. His cosmos consisted of spheres each ruled by one of the lower powers, the Archons, who together govern man's world, the earth, which is the lowest of the spheres.

65- Aryanism

Aryanism is a Christian heresy of the 4th century that denied the full divinity of Jesus Christ. It was named for its author, Arius, who taught that God is unbegotten and without beginning. The Son, the Second Person of the Trinity because he is begotten, cannot be God in the same sense that the Father is. The Son was not generated from the divine substance of the Father; he did not exist from all eternity, but was created out of nothing like all other creatures, and exists by the will of the Father. In other words, the relationship of the Son to the Father is not natural, but adoptive. By this doctrine, Arius was trying to preserve the absolute transcendence of God.

The teaching of Arius was condemned in 325 at the first ecumenical council at Nicaea. The 318 bishops assembled there stated that the Son of God was "begotten not made," and consubstantial (Greek homoousios, "of the same substance") with the Father -that is, the Son was part of the Trinity, not of creation.

Despite its condemnation, the teaching of Arius did not die. Emperor Constantine I recalled Arius from exile about 334 and soon after, Constantine's successor, Constantius II, was attracted to the Arian doctrine and the bishop and theologian Eusebius of Nicomedia, later patriarch of Constantinople, became an Arian leader. By 359 Aryanism had prevailed and was the official faith of the empire.

The Arians quarrelled among themselves and divided into two parties. The semi-Arians (mostly conservative eastern bishops) agreed with the Nicene Creed but were hesitant about the unscriptural term homoousios (consubstantial) used in the creed. The neo-Arians said that the Son was of a different essence (Greek heteroousios) from the Father. Valens who succeeded Constantius II in 361 persecuted the semi-Arians opening the way for the final victory of Nicene orthodoxy, recognised by Emperor Theodosius in 379 and reaffirmed at the second ecumenical council (Constantinople I) held in 381

66- Aristotle's Philosophy

After Plato's death, the Academy he founded continued to exist for many centuries under various heads. The first was Speusippus, Plato's nephew. Aristotle had become a member of the Academy at the age of 17, in the year 367. It is a controversial question as to how far Aristotle, during the 20 years of his membership in the Academy, developed a philosophy of his own differing from that of his master, Plato. However:

- He soon raised certain objections to Plato's theory of Ideas, for one of the arguments against it attributed to him is discussed in Plato's dialogue Parmenides.

- It was during his membership in the Academy that Aristotle began and elaborated his theoretical and formal analysis of the arguments used in various Socratic discussions, the base of his works on logic.

Aristotle left for Assus, then for the island of Lesbos, but he soon became the educator of the future Alexander the Great, at the Macedonian court at Pella. After the latter had become king, Aristotle returned to Athens and opened there a school of his own, whose members became known as the Peripatetics.

Some time before his return to Athens, Aristotle declared that:

- It is not necessary to assume the existence of a separate realm of transcendent Ideas of which the individual things that men perceive with their senses are but imperfect copies.

- The world of perceived things is the real world.

The last chapters of his Analytica Posteriora (Posterior Analytics) show that he only replaced Plato's transcendent Ideas with something that the human mind can grasp in things. Aristotle said that all living beings develop from an imperfect state, to the more perfect state of the fully developed plant or the full grown mature animal or man, later on to decay and finally die, having reproduced themselves. But not all individuals reach the same degree of relative perfection. The first question, then, is what kind of perfection a human being can reach. Aristotle answer was that man could reach only some of the perfections possible for man as such. Men can lead satisfactory lives only on the basis of a division of labour and distribution of functions. This is an advantage the human species have over all other animals because it enables it to adapt to all circumstances. But the advantage is paid for by the fact that no human individual is able to develop all of the perfections that are possible for the race as a whole. All human activities are directed toward the end of a good and satisfactory life. Aristotle's teleology is entirely based on empirical observation and not on a belief in divine providence. It forms the foundation of Aristotle's ethics and political theory. In later times, Aristotle came to be considered a dogmatic philosopher, however, he was one of the greatest Empiricists of all times.

67- Ark of the Covenant

In Judaism the Ark of the Covenant is the sacred repository mentioned in the Bible and in Exodus. Here it is described as a chest of acacia. It was known also as the Ark of the Law, the Ark of the Testimony, or the Ark of God. The chest was 2.5 cubits (3 ft 9 in) in length and 1.5 cubits (2 ft 3 in) in breadth and height. The ark lay in the Holy of Holies, the sacrosanct enclosure of the tabernacle and of the Temple in Jerusalem. The chest contained, according to the source, Aaron's rod, a pot of manna, and the stone tablets of the Decalogue. In the synagogues today, the term ark designates the repository for the scrolls of the Law used in the sacred service.

68- Armageddon

Armageddon is the name of the place according to Revelation where the king of the Lower World, the Dragon, the Beast and the false prophet assembled to make war on God. It is the battlefield described as the scene of the predicted final struggle between good and evil.

69- Ascension

In Christian belief it refers to the departure of Jesus Christ from the earth to Heaven 40 days after his resurrection from the dead. The event is described as occurring in the presence of the apostles; Christ was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. Its significance centres on the glorification of Christ and its service, as a sign that his earthly mission had been fulfilled. The Feast of the Ascension, one of the great festivals of Christianity, is observed on Thursday, 40 days after Easter.

70- Ascent

The goal of mysticism is a state, or condition, in which the soul is "one with God". This "oneness with God" is because all men, according to mystics, are ultimately called to their origin. Self-realization is basically one in intent with the injunctions of the Greek Mysteries: "Know thyself." This knowing, union, or communion with the divine and the sacred is of the essence of the ascent of man and mystics look upon it as the final end.

71- Asceticism

The word asceticism comes from the Greek "askeo" "to exercise" or "to train". It describes the practice of the denial of physical or psychological desires in order to attain a spiritual ideal or goal. Most religions have traces or features of asceticism.

72- Assassins (The)

They were a band of robbers that operated in Judaea at the time of Felix (first century AD). They participated in the Jewish War.

73- Assyria

Assyria was a small land bounded by the Tigris Valley on the west, the mountains of Armenia and Kurdistan to the north and east and the Lower Zab on the South. It grew to include the Fertile Crescent from Persian Gulf to the Egyptian border with also parts of Asia Minor and Egypt. Assyria came under the influence of Babylonia.

74- Astral Religion

Astral religion is the modern name for a complex of faith and religious practices in the Graeco-Roman society connected with the stars. This was not an organised creed but there was a pattern of belief that was widely diffused and influential.

75- Astrology

Astrology is a kind of divination that forecasts earthly and human events by observing and interpreting the fixed stars, the Sun, the Moon, and the planets. As a science, astrology has been used to predict or affect the destinies of individuals, groups, or nations by an assumed understanding of the influence of the planets and stars on earthly affairs. As a pseudo-science, astrology is considered to be opposed to modern science.

76- Asuras

Asuras was the "anti-gods" of Vedic and post-Vedic Hinduism. It is the equivalent of the Iranian "Ahura" (or Ahura Mazda). It is used mainly to describe evil gods at war with the Aryans and threatening human life.

In the Vedic age the Asuras and the Devas were both considered classes of gods, but gradually the two groups came to oppose each other. In Iran Asura, or Ahura, meant the supreme god and the Devas, or Daevas, became demons.

77- Athanasian Creed

The Athanasian Creed, also called Quicumque Vult (from the opening words in Latin), is a Christian profession of faith in about 40 verses. It is regarded as authoritative in the Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches. It has two sections, one dealing with the Trinity and the other with the Incarnation; total acceptation of its statements is said to be necessary for salvation. A Latin document composed in the Western Church, the creed was unknown to the Eastern Church until the 12th century. Since the 17th century, scholars have generally agreed that the Athanasian Creed was not written by Athanasius (died 373) but was probably composed in southern France during the 5th century. The earliest known copy of the creed was included as a prefix to a collection of homilies by Caesarius of Arles (died 542). The creed's influence seems to have been primarily in southern France and Spain in the 6th and 7th centuries and it was used in Germany in the 9th century and later in Rome.

78- Atheism

The word Atheism refers to the critic and denial of metaphysical beliefs in God or spiritual beings. It is the opposite of theism, which affirms the reality of the divine and often seeks to demonstrate its existence. Atheism is also distinguished from agnosticism, which leaves open the question whether there is a god or not, professing to find the questions unanswered or unanswerable. It is necessary not only to probe the warrant for atheism but also carefully to consider what is the most adequate definition of atheism.

79- Atonement or expiation

In Christian theology it means the expiation of sin and the propitiation of God by the incarnation, life, sufferings, and death of Jesus Christ; the obedience and death of Christ on behalf of sinners as the ground of redemption; in the narrow sense, the sacrificial work of Christ for sinners. In the theology of much atonement signifies the act of bringing people to God, as opposed to the idea of reconciling an offended God to his creation. Atonement means reconciliation or, more often, expiation, the removal of sin seen as a cleaning act.

80- Audiani

Audiani was the name of an anticlerical movement of the 4th century AD that broke away from the church over the worldliness of the clergy. Audius, a layman, founded the movement.

81- Autocephalous Churches

In Eastern Orthodox canon law, an autocephalous church enjoys total canonical and administrative independence and elects its own primates and bishops. The term autocephalous was used in medieval Byzantine law in its literal sense of "self-headed", or independent, and was applied in church law to individual dioceses that did not depend upon the authority of a provincial metropolitan. Today the Orthodox archbishopric of Mount Sinai, with the historic monastery of St. Catherine, still enjoys this privilege. Most modern Orthodox autocephalies are national churches. The autocephalous churches maintain canonical relations with each other and enjoy communion in faith and sacraments. There is between them a traditional order of precedence, the ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople being the first.

82- Avesta

Avesta is a word of uncertain origin, meaning "wisdom" or "knowledge" and the name of sacred scriptures of Zoroastrianism. It is also called Zend-avesta and contains its cosmogony, law, and liturgy, the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathushtra). The present day Avesta is all that remains of a larger scripture, apparently Zoroaster's interpretation of a very ancient tradition. The Avesta is in five parts. Its religious core is a collection of songs or hymns, the Gathas, thought to be the words of Zoroaster. They form a middle section of the liturgical part of the canon, the Yasna, which contains the rite of the preparation and sacrifice of haoma. The Visp-rat is a lesser liturgical scripture, containing homages to a number of Zoroastrian spiritual leaders. The Vendidad, or Videvdat, is the main source for Zoroastrian law, both ritual and civil. It also gives an account of creation and the first man, Yima. The Yashts are 21 hymns, rich in myth, to various yazatas (angels) and ancient heroes. The Khurda Avesta (or Little Avesta) is a group of minor texts, hymns, and prayers. Zend-Avesta literally means "interpretation of the Avesta."

83- Babylon

Babylon, the "gate of God") was one of the most important cities of the ancient world; today it only remains a broad area of ruins just east of the Euphrates River, 56 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq. Babylon was the capital of Babylonia in the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. In antiquity the city was located across the main overland trade route connecting the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean.

84- Babylonia

Babylonia was a region of southeastern Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (modern southern Iraq from around Baghdad to the Persian Gulf). Before Babylon's rise to political prominence (c. 1850 BC) the area was divided into two countries: Sumer in the southeast and Akkad in the northwest. The Sumerian city-states fought one another for the control of the region that became vulnerable to invasion from Akkad and from Elam. Sumer and Akkad developed rich cultures. The Sumerians were responsible for the first system of writing, cuneiform; the earliest known codes of law; the development of the city-state; the invention of the potter's wheel, the sailboat, and the seed plough; and the creation of literary, musical, and architectural forms that influenced all of Western civilization. Under the rule of the Amorites, which lasted until about 1600 BC, Babylon became the political and commercial centre of the Tigris-Euphrates area, and Babylonia became a great empire. The ruler responsible for this rise to power was Hammurabi (c. 1792-1750 BC), the sixth king of the 1st dynasty of Babylon, who forged coalitions between the separate city-states, promoted science and scholarship, and promulgated his famous code of law. After Hammurabi's death, the Babylonian empire declined until 1595 BC, when the Hittite invader Mursil I unseated the Babylonian king Samsuditana, allowing the Kassites from the mountains east of Babylonia to assume power and establish a dynasty that lasted 400 years. During the last few centuries of Kassite rule, religion and literature flourished in Babylonia. Assyria broke away from Babylonian control and developed as an independent empire, threatening the Kassite dynasty in Babylonia. Elam, too, grew powerful and conquered most of Babylonia, replacing the Kassite dynasty (c. 1157 BC). In a series of wars, a new line of Babylonian kings, the 2nd dynasty of the city of Isin, was established. Nebuchadrezzar I (reigned c. 1124-1103 BC) defeated Elam and fought off Assyrian advances for some years. For several centuries following Nebuchadrezzar I's rule, a three-way struggle developed among the Assyrians and Aramean and Chaldean tribesmen for control of Babylonia. From the 9th century to the fall of the Assyrian empire in the late 7th century BC, Assyrian kings often ruled over Babylonia. After the death of the last ruling Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal, a Chaldean leader, Nabopolassar, made Babylon his capital and instituted the last and greatest period of Babylonian supremacy. His son Nebuchadrezzar II (reigned 605-562 BC) conquered Syria and Palestine; he is best remembered for the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem in 587 BC and for the ensuing Babylonian captivity of the Jews. The Persians, under Cyrus the Great, captured Babylonia from Nebuchadrezzar's last successor Nabonidus in 539 BC and Babylonia ceased to be independent, passing in 331 BC to Alexander the Great. After Alexander's death the Seleucids abandoned Babylon, bringing an end to one of the greatest empires in history.

85- Bacchantes

Dionysus, the son of Zeus and Semele was brought up by the bacchantes (Maenads, or Thyiads) of Nysa, an imaginary place, at the request of Hermes. According to tradition, Pentheus, king of Thebes, was torn to pieces by the bacchantes when he attempted to spy on their activities, while the Athenians were punished with impotence for dishonouring the god's cult. While they were under the god's inspiration, the bacchantes were believed to possess occult powers, the ability to charm snakes and suckle animals, as well as preternatural strength that enabled them to tear living victims to pieces before indulging in a ritual feast (omophagia). The bacchantes hailed the god by his titles of Bromios (Thunderer), Taurokeros (Bull-Horned), or Tauroprosopos (Bull-Faced), in the belief that he incarnated the sacrificial beast.

86- Baal

Baal is a Hebrew word meaning "owner", "possessor" or "lord". It was applied to Canaanite gods as manifestation of Baal, fertility-god of Canaan. This god was in fact the Amorite god of winter rain and storm known as Adad or Hadad, the Thunderer. Baal was worshiped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities, especially among the Canaanites, who considered him a fertility deity and one of the most important gods in the pantheon and his title was Prince, Lord of the Earth. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. Fertility was envisaged in terms of seven-year cycles. In the mythology of Canaan, Baal, the god of life and fertility, locked in mortal combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility. If Baal triumphed, a seven-year cycle of fertility would ensue; but, if he lost to Mot, seven years of drought and famine would follow. But Baal was not exclusively a fertility god. He was also king of the gods after seizing the divine kingship from Yamm, the sea god. The worship of Baal was popular in Egypt from the later New Kingdom in about 1400 BC to its end (1075 BC). Through the influence of the Aramaeans the god became known as the Greek Belos, identified with Zeus. Various communities also worshipped Baal as a local god. The Old Testament speaks frequently Baal. In the beginning of Israel's history, the presence of Baal names did not necessarily mean apostasy or even syncretism. For the early Hebrews, "Baal" designated the Lord of Israel. What made the very name Baal anathema to the Israelites was Jezebel's proposal, in the 9th century BC, to introduce into Israel her Phoenician cult of Baal in opposition to the official worship of Yahweh.

87- Bacchanalia

Bacchanalia were the orgiastic rites of Dionysus. They were also called Dionysia in Greco-Roman religion meaning any of the several festivals of Bacchus (Dionysus), the wine god. They originated as rites of fertility gods. The most famous of the Greek Dionysia were in Attica and included the Little, or Rustic, Dionysia (simple, old-fashioned rites); the Lenaea, which included a festal procession and dramatic performances; the Anthesteria, a drinking feast; the City, or Great, Dionysia, accompanied by dramatic performances in the theatre of Dionysus, which was the most famous of all; and the Oschophoria ("Carrying of the Grape Clusters"). Coming to Rome from lower Italy, the Bacchanalia were at first held in secret, attended by women only, on three days of the year. Later, admission was extended to men, and celebrations took place as often as five times a month. The reputation of these festivals as orgies led in 186 BC to a decree of the Roman Senate that prohibited them throughout Italy, except in certain special cases. Bacchanalia long continued in the south of Italy.

88- Baptism

In Christian churches baptism (Greek baptein, "to dip") is the universal rite of initiation, performed with water, usually in the name of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) or in the name of Christ. Orthodox and Baptist churches require baptism by total immersion. In other churches, pouring (affusion) and sprinkling (aspersion) are more common. Most churches regard baptism as a sacrament, or sign of grace; some regard it simply as an ordinance, or rite, commanded by Christ.

89- Barbarians

Barbarian, at the time of Jesus, meant foreigner, someone speaking an unknown language.

90- Barbeloites or Barbelo-Gnostics

The Barbeloites were members of a school of Christian Gnosticism, active also in Rome. Irenaeus described barbelo-gnostics; they were quite similar to other Gnostic sects. According to Irenaeus, Barbelo was a primordial Virginal Spirit or Aeon, to whom the "unnameable Father" revealed himself. Barbelo was first a series of Aeons, and produced light, which the father anointed as Christ.

91- Beatitudes

Beatitude describes any of the blessings said by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount as told in the biblical New Testament in Matthew and in the Sermon on the Plain in Luke. Named from the initial words (beati sunt, "blessed are") of those sayings in the Latin Vulgate Bible, the Beatitudes describe the blessedness of those who have certain qualities or experiences peculiar to those belonging to the Kingdom of Heaven. The four blessings in the Sermon on the Plain may have been the nucleus of the expanded nine in the Sermon on the Mount. In addition to these two compilations, other Beatitudes are found in other places in the New Testament.

92- Bogomils

The Bogomils -lovers of God- were members of a religious sect that became important in the 10th century in the Balkans. Some scholars believe that they are the followers of a sect of Paulicians from Asia Minor who were exiled to Macedonia in 872. From Bulgaria the cult spread among other Slavic peoples. The movement was a blending of Eastern dualism and an evangelical attempt to reform the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The Bogomils, whose fundamental doctrines are attributed to a priest called Bogomil, held that the first-born Son of God was Satanael. Satanael rebelled and created, in opposition to the original spiritual universe, a world of matter and human beings. The Supreme Father gave these human beings a life spirit. This life spirit, however, was kept in slavery by Satanael until a second son of God, the Logos, or Christ, came down from heaven and, assuming a phantom body, broke the power of the evil spirit, who was then called Satan, the divine name, El, being dropped. The Bogomils practised asceticism, despised images, and rejected the sacraments. They accepted the whole of the New Testament, but only the Old Testament Psalms and Prophets, which they interpreted allegorically.

In 1118 the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus executed the leader of the sect for heresy. When Muslim conquered Bosnia in the 15th century, the majority of the Christians who embraced Islam were Bogomils. The Bogomils influenced the development of the Albigensian and Cathari groups of France and Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries.

93- Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy founded by Siddhartha Gautama in northeast India during the period from the late 6th century to the early 4th century BC. Spreading from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, Buddhism has played an influential role in the spiritual, cultural, and social life of much of the Eastern world. During the present century it has attracted some adherents in the West.

94- Bythos

In the biblical, Hellenistic (Greco-Roman cultural), and Islamic worlds of thought the celestial realm, generally composed of seven heavens or spheres dominated by the seven then-known planets, was the realm of the divine and the spiritual. At the highest level of the celestial sphere was the ultimate of the sacred or holy:

- Yahweh, the God of Judaism, whose name was so holy it should not even be spoken.

- Bythos, the unknowable beginning beyond beginnings of Gnosticism. (Others are the heavenly Father of Christianity, known through his Logos -the divine Word, or Reason, Jesus Christ- and Allah, the powerful, the almighty, and the sublime God of Islam).

95- Cabala or Kabbalah

Cabala is the name for the Jewish mysticism. The term -also spelled Kabala, or kabbala- means "what is handed down or received" in Hebrew.

The teachings of Kabbalah started 2,000 years ago. The early writings describe the journeys of sages who ascend through palaces in heaven filled with angels to adore the Divine Presence on His throne. Other early works explore the secrets of creation as well as magical formulas and practices.

The greatest period of Kabbalah came in the Middle Ages, above all in the 1200's in Spain. There a mystic named Moses de Leon "discovered" and published the Zohar (Book of Splendor). Leon and his followers claimed the Zohar was written by an ancient sage named Simeon bar Yohai but most modern scholars believe he was the author. The Zohar describes the different aspects of God. These aspects consist of qualities such as Beauty, Glory, Judgement, and Mercy that are called Sefirot (Emanations). The Zohar urges believers to study and meditate on these Sefirot. The book also stresses religious observances and ethical deeds.

Kabbalah arose also in Palestine in the early 1500's. Adding to the Zohar's teachings, a Jerusalem-born rabbi named Isaac Luria taught the doctrine of Tikkun (repair). Luria taught his followers that observance of Jewish law, understood mystically, could release sparks of imprisoned divine light and hasten the coming of the Messiah.

Kabbalah then came anew in Hasidism, a mystical movement that began in the 1700's in Poland and spread throughout Jewish Eastern Europe. Hasidism emphasises prayer and song and other religious experiences as a way of communicating with God.

Some people associate Kabbalah with fantastic interpretations of the hidden meanings of numbers and letters in the Bible and with miraculous acts. These elements play a smaller role in Kabbalah than generally assumed.

96- Cabeiri

The Cabeiri (or Cabiri) were an important group of deities, probably of Phrygian origin, worshiped over much of Asia Minor, in Macedonia and northern and central Greece. They were promoters of fertility and protectors of seafarers. In classical times there were two male deities, Axiocersus and his son and attendant Cadmilus, or Casmilus, and a less-important female pair, Axierus and Axiocersa. The cult included worship of the power of fertility, rites of purification, and initiation. The Cabeiri are often identified with the Great Gods of Samothrace, where the mysteries attracted great attention and initiation was looked upon as a general safeguard against misfortune.

97- Caduceus

In Greek this was the name of the staff, a symbol of peace, carried by Hermes, the messenger of the gods. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans it became the badge of heralds and ambassadors, signifying their inviolability. Originally the caduceus was a rod or olive branch ending in two shoots and decorated with garlands. Later two snakes entwined in opposite directions replaced the garlands. A pair of wings, in token of Hermes' speed, was attached to the staff above the snakes. Its similarity to the staff of Asclepius the healer resulted in modern times in the adoption of the caduceus as a symbol of the physician.

98- Caesars

Caesar is a title of the Roman Emperors derived from their forerunner, Julius Caesar who died in 44BC.

99- Caesaropapism

The word Caesaropapism describes a political system in which the head of the state is also the head of the church and supreme judge in religious matters. The term is associated with the late Roman, or Byzantine, Empire. It was normal practice for the Eastern Roman emperor to act as the protector of the universal church and as the manager of its administrative affairs. Emperors presided over councils, and their will was decisive in the appointment of patriarchs and in determining the territorial limits of their jurisdiction. Caesaropapism was more a reality in Russia, where the abuses of Ivan IV the Terrible went unopposed and where Peter the Great transformed the church into a department of the state (1721), although neither claimed to possess special doctrinal authority. The concept of caesaropapism existed in Western Christendom, for example, during the reign of Henry VIII in England.

100- Cainites

The Cainites were the members of a Gnostic sect mentioned by Irenaeus and other early Christian writers as flourishing in the 2nd century AD, probably in the eastern area of the Roman Empire. Origen declared that the Cainites had "entirely abandoned Jesus." Their interpretation of Old Testament texts is that Yahweh (the God of the Jews) was not merely an inferior demiurge, as many Gnostics believed, but that he was an evil because the world he created was designed to prevent the reunion of the divine element in man with the unknown perfect God. The Cainites also worshipped such rejected figures as Cain (whence their name), Esau, and the Sodomites, all of whom were thought to have an esoteric, saving knowledge (gnosis). These above biblical persons were said to have been punished by a jealous, irrational creator called Hystera (Womb). The Cainites also honoured Eve and Judas Iscariot and had gospels bearing their names. The Cainites are sometimes called libertine Gnostics for believing that true perfection, and hence salvation, comes only by breaking all the laws of the Old Testament. Because it was difficult to violate all biblical laws during a single lifetime, the Cainites did not look for salvation in the created world but rather escape from it. Their subversion of biblical stories allowed them to use Sacred Scripture to support their dualistic view of existence.

101- Canaanites

In the Old Testament, they were the original inhabitants of the land of Canaan. According to the Book of Judges, the Israelites, during the 2nd millennium BC or earlier, took over the Canaanite cities. By the end of the reign of Solomon, king of Israel, the Canaanites had been assimilated into the Hebrew people. Biblical scholars now believe that the Hebrew language was derived from Canaanite sources, and that the Phoenician language was an early form of Hebrew.

102- Canaan

Canaan was the name of different regions in historical and biblical literature, but always centred on Palestine. Its original pre-Israelite inhabitants were called Canaanites. The names Canaan and Canaanite occur in cuneiform, Egyptian, and Phoenician writings from about the 15th century BC as well as in the Old Testament. There, "Canaan" refers sometimes to an area encompassing all of Palestine and Syria, sometimes only to the land west of the Jordan River, and sometimes just to a strip of coastal land from Acre ('Akko) northward. Most scholars agree that initially Canaan meant Phoenicia (the costal area of Syria) before being used for the whole of Palestine.

103- Cannanite Religion

The Canaanite religion was a set of beliefs and practices prevalent in ancient Palestine and Syria during the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. The Canaanite religion was based on the worship of the divinities El, Baal, Anath, and Ashtoreth. From time to time it threatened the essential monotheism of the Israelites after they occupied Canaan, the Promised Land of the Old Testament.

104- Canon law

In Latin JUS CANONICUM, it describes a body of laws made within certain Christian churches (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, independent churches of Eastern Christianity, and the Anglican Communion) by the ecclesiastical authority for the government of the Church and of the behaviour and actions of individuals. The term includes precepts of divine law incorporated in the canonical collections and codes. Although canon law is historically continuous from the early church to the present, it has, as a result of doctrinal and ecclesiastical schisms, changed with time to adapt to the new environment. The canon law of the Eastern and Western churches was much the same until these two groups of churches separated in the Schism of 1054. Canon law in the Western churches after 1054 developed without interruption until the Reformation of the 16th century. Though other churches of the Reformation rejected the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England retained the concept of canon law and developed its own type. It is not a static body of laws, it reflects the social, political, economic, cultural, and ecclesiastical changes that have taken place in the past.

105- Capernaum

Capernaum was a town of ancient Palestine, on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee (now Lake Tiberias), Israel. Excavations at the village of Tell Hum in 1905 identified it with Capernaum, the setting for many events in the Galilean ministry of Jesus Christ described in the Gospels. It is thought to be the headquarters of Jesus in Galilee and the home of his first disciples, St. Andrew, St. Matthew, and St. Peter. Today only a few ruins of the old town remain, among them a synagogue built between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD.

106- Carpocratian

The Carpocratian sect flourished in Alexandria. Carpocratians revered Jesus not as a redeemer but as an ordinary man who remembered that his soul had its origin and true home in the realm of the perfect God. In other words, Jesus was to them a fellow Gnostic and a model. Carpocratians rejected the created world and identified themselves with spiritual reality. They claimed to communicate with demonic spirits, a proof of their power and superiority over the material world. The Carpocratians were called libertine Gnostics because they claimed that the attainment of transcendent freedom depended on having every possible experience, sinful or otherwise. They had a more developed cult than other Gnostic groups; they made coloured icons with images of Plato, Pythagoras, Aristotle, Jesus, and others. They were members of the first sect to have used pictures of Christ. They also practiced magic for such purposes as the making of love potions.

107- Cathars (or Cathari)

Cathars (Greek katharos, "pure"), is the name given to many heretical Christian sects of the Middle Ages. The Cathari practiced rigid asceticism and their dualistic theology asserted that the universe comprised two conflicting worlds, the spiritual world created by God, and the material world created by Satan a view similar to the doctrine of Manichaeism.

The Cathari believed that the principles of good and evil continually opposed each other in the world, that worldly things represented the evil force, and that the human spirit was the only good. They taught that the spirit had been imprisoned in the body as punishment for sinning, and that the highest good was to free the spirit from the body.

The Cathari were divided in two groups:

- The perfects vowed themselves to lives of extreme asceticism. Renouncing all possessions, they survived from donations given by the other members although they normally had a job. They were forbidden to take oaths, to have sexual relations, or to eat meat, eggs, or cheese. Only the perfects could communicate with God through prayer.

- The simple believers could become perfects through a long initiation period followed by the rite called consolamentum, or baptism of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. Some would receive this rite only when they were near death. They would then ensure their salvation by abstaining from all food and drink, in effect committing a form of suicide.

The Cathari were very popular until the church pronounced them heretics in the mid-1100. The nobility and the townsfolk supported them. The Cathari reached their greatest numbers in southern France; here they were also called Albigenses or Poblicants, the latter term being a corruption of Paulicians, with whom they were confused. By the late 14th century, however, the Cathari had all but disappeared.

The Christian church initially attempted to reconvert the Cathari through peaceful means. When every attempt failed, Pope Innocent III launched a Crusade (1209/1229) in Languedoc, which brutally repressed the local population. Small groups of Cathari survived in isolated areas and were pursued by the Inquisition as late as the 14th century.

108- Catharmos

The Pagan Gnostics call the first stage of initiation "catharmos", meaning "purification" (the second stage is called "paradosis"). During this first stage of initiation the initiates are purified through ethical teaching.

109- Catechumens

Catechumens described the people following instructions for baptism in the Early Church. The formation was long and baptism was only taking place at Easter. They were allowed to attend the first part of Eucharist or mass known as "Missa Catechumenorum" while the full Mass, "Missa Fidelium", was only attended by baptised people. Today a catechumen is a person who receives instruction in the Christian religion in order to be baptized. According to the New Testament, the apostles instructed converts after baptism, and Christian instruction was given to all converts. As the number of Gentiles in the church increased and, in the 4th century, with the rise of heresy, detailed doctrinal teaching was given. But by this time the postponement of baptism had become general and a large proportion of Christians belonged to the catechumenate. As infant baptism became general, the catechumenate decreased.

110- Celibacy of the Clergy

Celibacy of the clergy, in its narrow sense, is the term applied only to those for whom the unmarried state is the result of a sacred vow, act of renunciation, or religious conviction. Celibacy has existed in some form or another throughout religious history and in virtually all the major religions of the world. Wherever celibacy has appeared, it has generally accompanied the view that the religious life is essentially different from the normal structures of society and the normal drives of human nature.

Celibacy of the clergy was required in the Apostolic period but it soon was seen as a sign of devotion to the Church. In the 3d century AD some local synods required celibacy from those in holy orders. Celibacy requirements grew with monastic movement and became a custom through the Western Church. In the Middle Ages, celibacy was imposed in the Church but the Catholic Church was not always successful with all the clergy until the modern era.

111- Cenobitic monasticism

This was a form of monasticism based on "life in common", characterized by strict discipline, regular worship, and manual work. St. Pachomius was the founder of the cenobitic rule, which was later developed by St. Basil the Great (c. 329-379). Western Cenobitic monasticism was introduced by St. Benedict of Nursia and became the rule of the Benedictine. In the East its major centres were the monastery of Stoudios in Constantinople and several monastic communities on Mount Athos, in Greece.

112- Chapter

Chapter is the name of the assembly of monks in the monasteries. It is derived from the custom of assembly to hear a chapter of the rule read each day.

113- Chrestians

From the middle of the first century AD to the 5th century many Christians preferred to call themselves "Chrestians".

114- Christianity

Christianity is the most widely distributed of the world religions. Its total membership may exceed 1.7 billion people.

Like any system of belief and value Christianity is comprehensible only "from the inside," to those who share the beliefs and strive to live by the values. Christianity is a community, a way of life, a system of belief, a liturgical observance, and a tradition. Each of these aspects of Christianity has affinities with other faiths, but each also bears unmistakable marks of its Christian origins.

115- Circumcision

Circumcision is the operation of cutting away all or part of the foreskin (prepuce) of the penis. The origin of the practice is unknown. Circumcision is a ritual used in many ethnic groups; the widely use of a stone knife rather than a metal one suggest a great antiquity of the operation. When the operation is performed as a traditional rite, it is done either before or at puberty and sometimes, as among some Arab peoples, immediately before marriage. Among the ancient Egyptians, boys were generally circumcised between the ages of 6 and 12 years. Among the Ethiopians, the Jews, the Muslims, and a few other peoples, the operation is performed shortly after birth (among Jews, on the eighth day after birth) or a few years after birth. The ritual operation is regarded as having a profound religious significance. For the Jews it represents the fulfilment of the covenant between God and Abraham, the first divine command of the Pentateuch, that every male child shall be circumcised. That Christians were not obliged to be circumcised was first recorded in Acts 15. The operation at puberty represents a beginning of the initiation into manhood.

116- Codex

Codex (plural codices or codexes) describes an ancient manuscript text in book form.

117- Colyridians (or Collyridians)

The Colyridians were a 4th century sect of women members of a school of Christianity. They offered sacrifices of little cakes to the Virgin Mary. The sect was Arabian but its members were mainly immigrant Thracians and Scythians. According to the Literalist Christian Epiphanius, its initiates celebrated the Eucharist in the name of "Mary, Queen of Heaven".

118- Conclave

The term "Conclave" (Latin: cum clave, "with a key"), in the Roman Catholic Church, describes the assembly of cardinals gathered to elect a new pope and the system of strict seclusion (in the locked enclosure) to which they submit. The custom began in 1271 after two years during which the cardinals failed to elect a new pope. They were locked in a room until they reached a decision.

119- Constantinople, Councils of

Eight councils of the Christian church were held at Constantinople (now Istanbul). The Western Church recognises only four of these councils as ecumenical: the first three and the sixth, which is called the Fourth Council of Constantinople.

First Council of Constantinople

This council (381) was the second ecumenical council of the church. Theodosius I, the emperor of the East, convened it. The 150 bishops meeting at the council condemned various religious sects as heretical, reaffirmed the resolutions of the first ecumenical council of Nicaea (325), defined the Holy Spirit as consubstantial and coeternal with the Father and the Son in the divine Trinity, and proclaimed the bishop of Constantinople second in precedence to the bishop of Rome.

Second Council of Constantinople

This meeting (553) was the fifth ecumenical council of the church. Justinian I, Byzantine emperor, convoked it to consider the writings of the Greek theologians Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Ebas of Edessa. These writings, known as the Three Chapters, had been approved by the fourth ecumenical council, held at Chalcedon in 451. The council of 553 condemned the Three Chapters and anathematised their authors.

Third Council of Constantinople

The third council (680) was the sixth ecumenical council. It met at the request of Constantine IV, Byzantine emperor (reigned 668-85), to condemn Monothelitism, a doctrine declaring that Jesus Christ had only one will, even though he had two natures (human and divine).

Fourth Council of Constantinople

The fourth meeting (691) was called by Justinian II, Byzantine emperor (reigned 685-95; 705-11) to enact a legislative code for the church. This code later became part of the canon law of the Orthodox Church, but was largely rejected by the church in the West. The council of 691 was regarded in the East as supplementary to the previous ecumenical councils (the fifth and sixth).

Fifth Council of Constantinople

The fifth council (754) was called by Constantine V, Byzantine emperor (reigned 741-75), to deal with the problem of image worship. The council condemned the worship of images; the seventh ecumenical council, held at Nicaea in 787, however, rejected this position, and the council of 754 was not recognised as ecumenical in the West.

Sixth Council of Constantinople

The sixth council (869/870) is considered the Fourth Council of Constantinople by the Western church and as the eighth ecumenical council. Basil I, Byzantine emperor, convened it to confirm his deposition of Photius, patriarch of Constantinople. Photius, who was the principal instigator of the 9th-century schism between the Eastern and Western churches, was formally deposed. The council of 869-70 was not recognised by the Eastern Church.

Seventh Council of Constantinople

The seventh council (879) was recognised in the East as the eighth ecumenical council of the church. Photius, who had been reinstated as the patriarch of Constantinople in the previous year, called it. This council, which repudiated the council of 869-70, was not recognised by the church in the West.

Eighth Council of Constantinople

The last council (1341) was recognised in the East as the ninth ecumenical council of the church. It deals with the problem of the Hesychasts, a mystical sect of monks living on Mount Áthos. The council condemned the Greek monk Barlaam as a heretic for his opposition to the sect.

120- Coptic Church (Catholic)

The Eastern Catholic church of the Alexandrian rite in Egypt is part of the Roman Church since 1741 when Athanasius, a Monophysite Coptic bishop, became a Roman Catholic. Two succeeding bishops remained unconsecrated because they were unable to travel to Europe and there was no Egyptian bishop to perform the ceremony. In 1893 the Franciscans in Egypt gave the Catholic Copts 10 churches. In 1895 Pope Leo XIII divided the 5,000 Catholic Copts into three dioceses directed by an administrator, who, four years later, was appointed patriarch of Alexandria, with residence in Cairo.

121- Coptic Orthodox Church

The Coptic Orthodox Church, also called simply Coptic Church, is the principal Christian church in predominantly Muslim Egypt. From the 5th century onward, the Egyptian Christians belonged to a Monophysite church, calling themselves simply the Egyptian Church. In the 19th and 20th centuries they began to call themselves Coptic Orthodox to be distinguished from Copts who had converted to Roman Catholicism and from Eastern Orthodox, who are mostly Greek. In the 4th and 5th centuries a theological conflict arose between the Copts and the Greek-speaking Romans, or Melchites ("Emperor's Men"), in Egypt over the Council of Chalcedon (451), which rejected Monophysite doctrine. After the Arab conquest of Egypt in the 7th century, the Copts ceased speaking Greek, and the language barrier added to the controversy. Various attempts at compromise did not succeed. Apart from the Monophysite question, the Coptic and the Eastern Orthodox churches agree in doctrinal matters. Arabic is now used in the services of the Coptic Orthodox Church for the lessons from the Bible and for the hymns. The service books, using the liturgies attributed to St. Mark, St. Cyril of Alexandria, and St. Gregory of Nazianzus, are written in Coptic, with the Arabic text in parallel columns.

122- Coptic language

This was an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt from the 2d century AD, the final stage of the ancient Egyptian language. Whereas the previous Egyptian languages were written in hieroglyphs, hieratic script, or demotic script, Coptic was written in the Greek alphabet. Coptic replaced the religious terms and expressions of earlier Egyptian with Greek words. Coptic has six dialects.

- The Fayyumic dialect of Upper Egypt, spoken along the Nile River valley survived until the 8th century.

- Asyutic, or Sub-Akhmimic, spoken around Asyut, flourished in the 4th century. In it are preserved a text of the Gospel According to John and of the Acts of the Apostles, and many Gnostic documents.

- Akhmimic was spoken in and around the Upper Egyptian city of Akhmim.

- Sahidic (from Arabic, as-Sa'id [Upper Egypt]) was originally the dialect spoken around Thebes; after the 5th century it was the standard Coptic of all of Upper Egypt.

- Bashmuric, a dialect of Lower Egypt is not well known.

- Bohairic, originally spoken in the western part of Lower Egypt including the cities of Alexandria and Memphis. All Coptic Christians have used Bohairic for religious purposes since the 11th century.

123- Corpus Christie (Feast of)

Corpus Christie is a festival of the Western Christian Church in honour of the Real Presence of the body (corpus) of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. It is observed on the Thursday (or, in some countries, the Sunday) after Trinity Sunday. It originated in 1246 when Robert de Torote, bishop of Liège, ordered the festival celebrated in his diocese at the request of Blessed Juliana, prioress of Mont Cornillon near Liège (1222-58), who had experienced a vision. Jacques Pantaléon, formerly archdeacon of Liège, who became pope as Urban IV, ordered in 1264 to the whole church to observe the feast. By the mid-14th century the festival was well accepted, and in the 15th century it became the principal feast of the church. The procession, the most prominent feature was a pageant in which sovereigns and princes took part, together with magistrates and members of guilds. In the 15th century the procession was followed by the performance of miracle and mystery plays. After the doctrine of transubstantiation was rejected during the Reformation, the festival was suppressed in Protestant churches.

124- Corpus Hermeticum

The Corpus Hermeticum is composed of 17 treatises of theological writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistos. Though the setting of these is Egyptian, the philosophy is Greek. The Hermetic writings, in fact, present a fusion of Eastern religious elements with Platonic, Stoic, and Neo-Pythagorean philosophies.

125- Cosmogony

Cosmogony is the study of the origin and development of the universe, or of a particular system in the universe, such as a planetary system. The age of the solar system has allowed sufficient time for all the planets to settle down into orbits that are in the same direction and in nearly the same plane. Its size, mass, and speed of rotation suggest that it condensed from a much more massive cloud of gas and dust. Stars are formed from clouds of gas and dust in the spaces between other stars, particularly in nebulae. A large or rapidly rotating cloud can condense into a double star. If the cloud is small or rotates slowly then all the mass is pulled into a single star. In between these extremes a nebular cloud, parts of which may subsequently condense to form planets, surrounds the condensing star.

126- Cosmology

Cosmology is the study of the structure and evolution of the universe. It can also describe a particular theory of the universe, such as the Big Bang. It has also largely replaced the older term cosmogony. Each civilization has developed its own picture of the universe, the best-known ones of ancient times being those of the Greeks Ptolemy and Aristotle. Prior to this Aristarchus of Samos had postulated a heliocentric solar system with the stars as distant suns. The Chinese also favoured this cosmology until the arrival of European culture in the early Middle Ages. Modern cosmology originates from the theory of Copernicus that the Earth and the other planets orbit the Sun. The dominant force in large-scale interactions is gravitation that led to Newton's Law of Gravitation that explains the motion of the planets and predicted the subsequent discovery of the planet Neptune. During the 20th century scientists have reached an understanding of the universe as a whole and discovered the concept of an expanding universe.

In the 1920s it was discovered that the Milky Way is one galaxy among millions of others, with the Sun just one of millions of stars in the Milky Way. While studying external galaxies, it was found that they are all receding from our own galaxy, with the more distant galaxies having the highest recession velocities; this led to the notion of expanding universe.

The invention of radio astronomy in the 1950s led to more discoveries over the next two decades. It was realized that most of the radio sources in the sky such as quasars and radio galaxies, are associated with distant objects. Since the distances involved are a fraction of the size of the universe, the radio and light waves take a period of time approaching the age of the universe to reach us. Therefore by looking at faint radio sources we are looking at earlier epochs in the history of the universe. Counting the number of radio sources in each range of signal intensity gives results that are in disagreement with all the theories that the universe has looked the same at all times that is the Steady State theory of cosmology of Hoyle, Hermann Bondi, and Thomas Gold. This led the scientists to believe that there was a time when there were no radio sources, followed by an epoch with many sources, and the present time with few sources. This confirms the Big Bang or evolutionary cosmologies.

127- Cosmos

Man has always been concerned with what makes him different from other animate beings and what makes his community, and thus his world, different from other communities and other worlds. The cosmos may be viewed as monistic, as in Hinduism, in which the cosmos is regarded as wholly sacred or part of a single divine principle. The cosmos may also be viewed as dualistic, as in Gnosticism, in which the world of matter was regarded as evil and the realm of the spirit as good. A third view of the cosmos, found in the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam, is centred on a tripartite universe: celestial, terrestrial, and sub-terrestrial.

128- Covenant

A covenant is a binding promise in the relations between individuals, groups, and nations. It can have social, legal, religious, and other aspects. Covenants in the ancient world were solemn agreements by which societies attempted to regularize the behaviour of both individuals and social organizations. A covenant is a promise that is sanctioned by an oath. This promise in turn was accompanied by an appeal to a deity or deities to "see" or "watch over" the behaviour of the one who has sworn, and to punish any violation of the covenant by bringing into action the curses stipulated or implied in the swearing of the oath. Legal procedure, on the other hand, may be entirely secular. Further, in ordinary legal procedure the sanctions of the law are carried out by appropriate agencies of the society itself, not by transcendent powers beyond the control of man and society. Because a person can bind only himself by an oath, covenants in the ancient world were usually unilateral. The oath was usually accompanied by a ritual or symbolic act like the ritual identification of the promissory with a sacrificial animal, so that the slaughter and perhaps dismemberment of the animal dramatized the fate of the promissory if he were to violate the covenant.

129- Cribolium

Cribolium is the name used to describe the sacrifice of a ram in rites of Cybele.

130- Cross

The cross is an ancient symbol found in many cultures, but especially associated with Christianity.

Its design consists of two lines at right angles but there are many variations. The tau cross is T-shaped; the Saltire, or St. Andrew's cross, is X-shaped; the Latin cross has a short horizontal member near the top of the longer vertical member; the Greek cross has members of equal length and intersects in the centre. The Russian cross has two unequal horizontals set on the vertical member above a small slanting bar. The cross of Lorraine has two unequal horizontals; the papal cross has three unequal horizontals, with the shortest near the top end of the vertical member. The Maltese cross is a Greek cross with V-shaped members widening from the centre and being notched at the ends. The Celtic cross is like a Latin one with the addition of a circle surrounding the intersection. In the swastika the members, of equal length, are bent at the ends.

The cross may be simply decorative, or it may have symbolic meaning. The tau cross, for example, was a symbol of life to the ancient Egyptians; when combined with the circle, it stood for eternity. For most ancient peoples the Greek cross was a metaphor for the four indestructible elements of creation (air, earth, fire, and water). The swastika was common in both the Old World and the New World; it originally represented the revolving sun, fire, or life and later, by extension, good luck. To Buddhists, a swastika represented resignation; to the Jains, it symbolized their seventh saint. To Hindus, a swastika with arms bent to the left symbolized night, magic, and the destructive goddess Kali. In mid-20th-century Germany, the right-facing swastika was the Nazi party emblem.

The cross was also used in the ancient world as a symbol of execution by crucifixion. In Roman times only the lowest class of criminals was crucified. In Christianity the cross became not only a symbol of the death of Jesus Christ as a criminal on a tau-shaped Roman cross, but also of his subsequent resurrection to eternal life and of his promise of salvation to Christian believers.

The cross became an important part of Christian liturgy and art. Christians make a sign of the cross with the right hand both to profess their faith and to bestow a blessing. Early Christian clergy used small hand-held crosses to bestow blessings. Larger crosses were carried in processions. In time, crosses were placed on altars in churches and erected outdoors in markets and along roads. Most large medieval churches were built on the plan of a Latin or Greek cross, symbolic of Christ's body.

The cross, as first used in Christian art, did not show the body of Jesus, because the empty cross symbolised Jesus' resurrection rather than his death. By the 7th century the whole figure of Jesus was shown, alive and robed, as the triumphant Christ, in front of the cross but not attached to it. Later, as more emphasis was put on his suffering and death, Christ was portrayed in a loincloth and crown of thorns, nailed to the cross with the wound in his side visible.

131- Crowns

A crown is a headdress symbolising sovereignty, or other high rank or special condition. The word is also used to refer to a monarchy as an institution.

132- Crucifixion

Crucifixion refers to the execution of a criminal by nailing or binding to a cross. It was a common form of capital punishment from the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD, especially among the Persians, Egyptians, Carthaginians, and Romans. The Romans used crucifixion for slaves and criminals but never for their own citizens. Roman law provided that the criminal be scourged before being put to death; the accused also had to carry either the entire cross or, more commonly, the crossbeam from the place of scourging to the place of execution. Constantine the Great out of respect for Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, abolished the practice in 337. All four Evangelists record the crucifixion of Christ between two thieves in the New Testament.

133- Cult

Cult is the term commonly used for a new religious group devoted to a living leader and committed to a fixed set of teachings and practices. Such groups range in size from a few followers to worldwide organisations. Members of these groups generally consider them to be legitimate religions and rarely call them cults. A more neutral term is "new religious movement" instead of cult.

AS there is not one clear definition of cults, their numbers and membership today cannot be accurately measured. Some scholars estimate that 3,000 cults exist in the world with a total membership of more than 3 million people, mostly young adults.

Traditionally, the term cult referred to any form of worship or ritual observance, or even to a group of people pursuing common goals. Many groups accepted as religions today were once classified as cults. Christianity began as a cult within Judaism and developed into an established religion. Other groups that began as cults and developed into organised churches include the Quakers, Mormons, Swedenborgians, Christian Scientists, Methodists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Seventh-day Adventists. The Amish, who trace their history to the 1500's, are an example of a cult that has changed little over the centuries.

Today, the term is applied to groups that follow a living leader who promotes new and unorthodox doctrines and practices. Some leaders demand that members live apart from everyday society in communities called communes. Leaders claim that they possess exclusive religious truth, and they command absolute obedience and allegiance from their followers. Some cults require that members contribute all their possessions to the group.

134- Cushitic languages

Cushitic languages form a group of languages spoken by some 16 million people in Ethiopia and adjacent areas south and east. Scholars differentiate five Cushitic subgroups: (1) Beja, (2) Agau, (3) Eastern Cushitic (including Oromo and Somali), (4) West Cushitic (including Kaffa in southwest Ethiopia), and (5) Southern Cushitic (including Mbugu and Mbulunge [Burungi] in Tanzania). The most widespread languages are Oromo, Somali, and Beja.

135- Cynics

Cynics were the members of a school of Greek philosophers founded during the second half of the 4th century BC. Diogenes of Sinope is generally regarded as the founder, but Antisthenes, a pupil of Socrates, has also been proposed. According to Aristotle, Diogenes was a well-known figure, nicknamed Kyon, the Greek word for "dog."

The Cynics taught that civilization was an artificial, unnatural condition and that it should be held in contempt. Hence, they advocated returning to a natural life, which they equated with a simple life, maintaining that complete happiness can be attained only through self-sufficiency. Independence is the true good, not riches or luxuries. It follows that the Cynics were exceedingly ascetic, regarding abstemiousness as the means to human liberation.

136- Cyrene

Cyrene was the capital of Libya in North Africa.

137- Dadouchos

The leaders of the Old Mystery cults included the dadouchos ("torchbearer").

138- Daemon (daimon, demon)

The term demon is derived from the Greek word daimon, which means a "supernatural being" or "spirit." Though it has commonly been associated with an evil or malevolent spirit, the term originally meant a spiritual being that influenced a person's character. An agathos daimon ("good spirit"), for example, was benevolent in its relationship to men. The term gradually was applied to the lesser spirits of the supernatural realm who exerted pressures on men to perform actions that were not conducive to their well-being. The dominant interpretation has been weighted in favour of malevolence and that which forbids evil, misfortune, and mischief. In religions of non-literate peoples, spiritual beings may be viewed as either malevolent or benevolent according to the circumstances facing the individual or community. The positions of spiritual beings or entities viewed as benevolent or malevolent may, in the course of time be reversed. Such has been the case in the ancient Indo-Iranian religion, from which evolved early Zoroastrianism and the early Hinduism reflected in the Vedas. In Zoroastrianism the daevas were viewed as malevolent beings, but their counterparts, the devas in ancient Hinduism, were viewed as gods. The ahuras of Zoroastrianism were good "lords," but in Hinduism their counterparts, the asuras, were transformed into evil lords.

139- Damascus

Damascus or Dimashq is capital and chief city of Syria, in southwestern Syria. The greater part of Damascus, including the rectangular ancient city, is on the south bank of the Baradá. Damascus has long been an important commercial centre. In former times it was famous for dried fruit, wine, wool, linens, and silks. The city was notable also for the manufacture of damascened steel sword blades, which were exceptionally hard and resilient.

140- Dead Sea Scrolls

Dead Sea Scrolls is the name of a collection of about 600 Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts discovered in caves near Khirbat Qumran in Jordan. The leather and papyrus scrolls came to light in a series of archaeological finds that began in 1947. The manuscripts have been attributed to members of a previously unknown Jewish brotherhood. The scrolls include manuals of discipline, hymnbooks, biblical commentaries, and apocalyptic writings; two of the oldest known copies of the Book of Isaiah; fragments of every book in the Old Testament except that of Esther. Among the latter is a paraphrase of the Book of Genesis. Also found were texts, in the original languages, of several books of the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. These texts that were not included in the Hebrew canon of the Bible are Tobit, Sirach, Jubilees, portions of Enoch, and the Testament of Levi.

The seven main scrolls were discovered by Bedouins and were purchased partly by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and partly by the Syrian monastery of Saint Mark in Jerusalem. The government of Israel later purchased the scrolls in the possession of the Syrian monastery.

The manuscripts belonged probably to the library of a community located in what is now Khirbat Qumran, near the place of the scrolls' discovery. Palaeographic evidence indicates that most of the documents were written between about 200 BC and AD 68. Archaeological evidence supports the latter date. Presumably the documents were hidden between AD 66 and 68.

Similarities between the beliefs and practices described in the scrolls and those of the Essenes have suggested to many scholars that the Qumran brotherhood is related to that sect.

141- Decapolis

Decapolis meant initially a league of ten Greek cities (Scythopolis, Pella, Don, Gerasa, Philadelphia, Gadara, Raphana, Kanatha, Hippos and Damascus) organised for mutual defence against the Semitic tribes; it started in the beginning of the Christian era.

142- Deism

Originally deism meant the belief in the existence of a god or gods. Today it means more specifically the belief in the existence of a supreme being who is the ground and source of reality but who does not intervene or take an active interest in the natural and historical order.

143- Deluge

In biblical history deluge described the flood of waters described in Genesis 6-9 that inundated the entire earth or a large part of it. The only survivors were the occupants of the ark, a vessel built by Noah at God's command. On the ark, besides Noah, were his wife, his three sons and their wives, and mated pairs of every species of animal. According to the Yahwist sections of the narrative the flood is caused by a rain lasting 40 days. Noah sends out a raven at the end of this period, but it fails to return. He then releases a dove, which returns with an olive leaf. Sent out again seven days later, the dove does not return. Noah disembarks after another seven-day interval, builds an altar, and offers a sacrifice. In the Elohist sections, the flood is accompanied by an upsurge of subterranean waters. It increases in intensity for 150 days, or five months of a solar year, and begins to recede in the seventh month. The ark then grounds "upon the mountains of Ararat." On the first day of the next solar year, Noah leaves the ark and is blessed by God, who causes a rainbow as a sign of his covenant that such a flood will not occur again.

144- Demiurge

Demiurge (Greek dêmiourgos, "artisan," "craftsman," "manual labourer") is a term used in history and in philosophy. In ancient Attica, the Demiurges were one of three classes of the population, along with the nobility and the farmers. Demiurge was also the name that was given to the ten or twelve officers of the assembly of the Achaean League, a democratic confederation of Greek cities.

In Plato's dialogue Timaeus, the Demiurge was the creator of the world, the builder of the material universe. In later Neoplatonic and Gnostic philosophies, the Demiurge was still considered the architect of the world, but an entity distinct from and inferior to the supreme God.

145- Demons

The word demon, also spelled daemon, in religions worldwide describes numerous malevolent spiritual beings, powers, or principles. In ancient Greece a demon (Greek daimon) was a supernatural power similar to a god. It became commonly the power determining a person's fate, and an individual could have a personal demon. The Christians attributed the actions of the pagan gods to demons identified as fallen angels. In Zoroastrianism, the hierarchy of demons (daevas) is headed by Angra Mainyu (later called Ahriman), the Evil, or Destructive, Spirit. The hierarchy of demons in Judaism is quite varied. The prince of the forces of evil was called by different names: Satan (the Antagonist), Belial (the spirit of perversion, darkness, and destruction), Mastema (Enmity, or Opposition), and other names. The hierarchy of demons in Christianity is based on various sources: Jewish, Zoroastrian, Gnostic, and various indigenous religions. In the New Testament, Jesus speaks of Beelzebub as the chief of demons and equates him with Satan. In the European Middle Ages and the Reformation period, various hierarchies of demons were developed, such as that associated with the seven deadly sins: Lucifer (pride), Mammon (avarice), Asmodeus (lechery), Satan (anger), Beelzebub (gluttony), Leviathan (envy), and Belphegor (sloth). The Islamic hierarchy of demons is headed by Iblis (the devil), who also is called Shaytan (Satan) or 'aduw Allah ("Enemy of God"). In Hinduism, the asuras are the demons who oppose the devas (the gods). Buddhists often view their demons as forces that inhibit the achievement of Nirvana (bliss, or the extinction of desire.

146- Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy, ("Words" in Hebrew) is the fifth book of the Old Testament; Moses wrote it as a farewell address to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land of Canaan. The document recalls Israel's past, reiterates laws that Moses had communicated to the people at the Sinai, and emphasises that observance of these laws is essential for the well-being of the people. The title Deuteronomy, derived from Greek, means a "copy," or a "repetition," of the law and not a "second law". Although Moses presents Deuteronomy as an address, scholars generally agree that it dates from a much later period of Israelite history. The earliest existing edition has been identified with the book of the Law discovered in the Temple of Jerusalem about 622 BC that contains the chapters 5-26 and 28 of Deuteronomy as it now stands. Other materials were added in the years following the reforms instituted by King Josiah (reigned c. 640-609 BC). The final form includes a second introduction (chapters 1-4) and makes Deuteronomy the book of first principles for his history of the Israelite people in the land of Canaan. The principles governing the presentation of Israel's history are: faithfulness to Yahweh and obedience to his commands bring blessings; the worship of foreign gods and negligence of Yahweh's statutes bring a curse; Yahweh can be worshiped in only one sacred place (Jerusalem) by all Israel; priests, prophets, and kings are subject to Yahweh's law granted through Moses.

147- Devil

The Devil, in Hebrew and in Christian belief, is the supreme spirit of evil. In later Jewish tradition and in early Christian thought, the title becomes a proper name; he then is seen as an adversary not only of human beings but also-and even primarily-of God.

According to many religions, the Devil is an evil spirit that opposes God or good spirits. The Devil tempts people to be wicked. He is the chief Tempter and may command many lesser devils. In Judaism and Christianity, the Devil is also known as Satan. In Islam, the religion of the Muslims, the Devil is known as Iblis.

In the Old Testament, the Devil is a Satan, a Hebrew word that means adversary. In the Book of Job, God let the Devil test the faith of Job by overwhelming him with misfortunes. Through the centuries, the Devil has been perceived as an evil angel. In the New Testament, he is seen as the opponent of God who had been expelled from heaven. Since then, the Devil has been portrayed as tempting humanity to turn against God. According to medieval thought, the Devil rules hell where the damned are punished.

In the Middle Ages the devil played important roles in art and in folklore, being almost always seen as an evil, impulsive animal-human with a tail and horns, sometimes accompanied by subordinate devils.

In many works of art and literature, Satan and other devils are portrayed with animal features, particularly bat's wings, split hooves, and a barbed tail. These features probably symbolise the Devil's beastly lust and passion. Many modern theologians consider the Devil to be a symbol of the power of evil, of the worst qualities of human nature, or of the destructive forces in the universe.

148- Devil worship

Devil worship is the practice of worshipping demons or other evil spirits. Only a few groups actually worship devils or other beings they consider evil. Members of a Brazilian religious group worship evil spirits called Exus, who they believe, will harm their enemies. An anti-Christian movement called Satanism has a small number of followers in Europe and North America. Satanism involves elements of magic and witchcraft. Its chief ceremony is the Black Mass, a distorted version of a Christian church service in which the worshipers praise Satan and ridicule God.

People to describe a religion other than their own sometimes use the term "devil worship". Individuals who consider their religion the only true one may regard the gods of others as devils. People also may use the term devil worship for practices they misinterpret. For example, some groups offer gifts to evil spirits to calm the spirits' anger. Such offerings may seem like devil worship to other people.

149- Dianoetic

This term means lower mind as human reason and intelligence.

150- Diaspora

Diaspora (Hebrew Galut for Exile) means the dispersion of Jews among the Gentiles after the Babylonian Exile as well the Jews and Jewish communities scattered "in exile" outside Palestine or present-day Israel. Although the term refers to the physical dispersal of Jews throughout the world, it also carries some religious, philosophical, political, and eschatological aspects, since the Jews perceive a special relationship between the land of Israel and themselves. The first significant Jewish Diaspora was the result of the Babylonian Exile of 586 BC. After the Babylonians conquered the Kingdom of Judah, part of the Jewish population was deported into slavery. Although Cyrus the Great, the Persian conqueror of Babylonia, permitted the Jews to return to their homeland in 538 BC, part of the Jewish community remained there. The largest and more important Jewish Diaspora in early Jewish history was in Alexandria where, in the 1st century BC, 40 percent of the population was Jewish. Around the 1st century AD, an estimated 5,000,000 Jews lived outside Palestine, most of them within the Roman Empire, but they looked to Palestine as the centre of their religious and cultural life. Diaspora Jews outnumbered the Jews in Palestine even before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Some lived in peace in many countries but others became victims of anti-Semitism. Many Jews believe that Jewish life and culture are doomed in the Diaspora because of assimilation, and only those Jews who migrate to Israel have hope for continued existence as Jews. Support for a national Jewish state was greater after the annihilation of Jews during World War II.

151- Didache

The Didache, also called "Teaching Of The Twelve Apostles", is the oldest surviving Christian order, probably written in Egypt or Syria in the 2nd century. In 16 chapters it deals with morals and ethics, church practice, and the eschatological hope of the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time; it also presents a program for instruction and initiation into the primitive church. Some early Christian writers considered the Didache canonical, and Egyptian authors and compilers quoted it extensively in the 4th and 5th centuries. Eusebius of Caesarea quoted it in his Ecclesiastical History (early 4th century); the 4th-century Apostolic Constitutions, a collection of early Christian ecclesiastical law, uses it as a reference. It was known only through references in early Christian works until a Greek manuscript of it, written in 1056, was discovered in Istanbul in 1873 and published in 1883. Two fragments of the work were later discovered, a 4th-century Greek papyrus in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and a 5th-century Coptic papyrus in the British Museum. The Didache is not a unified and coherent work but a compilation of regulations that had acquired the force of law by usage in scattered Christian communities. Evidently several pre-existing written sources were used and were compiled by an unknown editor.

152- Didascalia Apostolorum

The "Didascalia Apostolorum" (The Catholic Teaching of the Twelve Holy Apostles and Disciples of the Saviour also named the Directions of the Apostles) was written by Epiuphanius in the early 3d century for a Jewish-Christian Church in northern Syria by its bishop. The original is lost but a Syriac translation exists as well as a partial Latin copy, and Coptic, Ethiopic and Arabic versions.

153- Dionysia

Dionysia is a feast in honour of the Greek god Dionysus also known as Bacchus.

154- Disciples

In ancient time every teacher had many followers known as disciples or learners who were learning his message. In early Christianity it meant the direct followers of Jesus Christ including the twelve Apostles.

155- Dispersion

See Diaspora

156- Divine

All religious experience can be described in terms of three basic elements:

- The personal concerns, attitudes, feelings, and ideas of the individual who has the experience.

- The religious object disclosed in the experience or the reality to which it is said to refer.

- The social forms that arise from the fact that the experience in question can be shared.

Religious experience is always found in connection with a personal concern and quest for the real self. A wide variety of individual experiences are thus involved such as the experience of being converted or of having the course of life directed toward the divine; the feeling of relief stemming from the sense of divine forgiveness; the sense that there is an unseen order or power upon which the value of all life depends; the sense of being at one with the divine and of abandoning the egocentric self.

Four basic conceptions of the divine may be distinguished:

- The divine as an impersonal, sacred order (Logos, Tao, rta, Asha) governing the universe and man's destiny.

- The divine as power that is holy and must be approached with awe, proper preparation, or ritual cleansing.

- The divine as all-embracing One, the ultimate Unity and harmony of all finite realities and the goal of the mystical quest.

- The divine as an individual or self transcending the world and man and yet standing in relation to both at the same time.

The two most important concepts developed by theologians and philosophers for the interpretation of the divine are transcendence and immanence:

- Transcendence means going beyond a limit or surpassing a boundary. The divine is said to transcend man and the world when it is viewed as distinct from both and not wholly identical with either. The conception of the divine as an individual or self represents the extreme of transcendence, since God is taken as not wholly identical with either the world or any finite reality within it.

- Immanence means remaining within or existing within the confines of a limit. The divine is said to be immanent when it is viewed as wholly or partially identical with some reality within the world, such as man or the cosmic order. The conception of the divine as an impersonal, sacred order represents the extreme of immanence.

157- Docetism

Docetism is an early Christian heresy affirming that Jesus Christ had only an apparent body. The doctrine took various forms: some proponents flatly denied any true humanity in Christ; some admitted his incarnation but not his sufferings, suggesting that he persuaded one of his followers-possibly Judas Iscariot or Simon of Cyrene-to take his place on the cross; others ascribed to him a celestial body that was incapable of experiencing human miseries.

This denial of the human reality of Christ stemmed from dualism, a philosophical doctrine that viewed matter as evil. The Docetists, acknowledging that doctrine, concluded that God could not be associated with matter. They could not accept a literal interpretation of John 1:14 that the "Word became flesh."

Although Docetism is alluded to in the New Testament, it was not fully developed until the 2nd and 3rd centuries, when it found an ally in Gnosticism. It occasioned vigorous opposition by early Christian writers, beginning with Ignatius of Antioch and Irenaeus early in the 2nd century. Docetism was officially condemned at the Council of Chalcedon in 451.

158- Doctrine and Dogma

Doctrine and Dogma mean the explication and officially acceptable version of a religious teaching. The development of doctrines and dogmas has significantly affected the traditions, institutions, and practices of the religions of the world.

- Doctrine in theology (Latin doctrina; Greek didaskalia, didache) is a generic term for the theoretical component of religious experience. Doctrines seek to provide religion with intellectual systems for guidance in the processes of instruction, discipline, propaganda, and controversy.

- Dogma (Latin decretum, Greek dogma) has a more specific reference to the distillate of doctrines: those first principles at the heart of doctrinal reflection, professed as essential by all the faithful.

This distinction appears in Christianity in the New Testament, in which didaskalia means "basic teachings" (as in I and II Tim.) whereas dogma is used only in the sense of an official judgment or decree (as in Acts 16:4). Later, however, many theologians of the early church use the term dogma in the sense of doctrine. As late as the Roman Catholic reformatory Council of Trent (1545-63), "doctrine" and "dogma" were still roughly synonymous. Most modern historians have stressed the differences: Dogma is not doctrinal opinion, not the pronouncement of any given teacher, but doctrinal statute (decretum). The dogmas of a church are those doctrines that it declares to be the most essential contents of Christianity.

159- Donatism

Christianity grew much more rapidly in Africa than in any western province. For instance it was firmly established in Carthage and other Tunisian towns by the 3rd century; during the next 50 years there was a remarkable expansion; more than 80 bishops attended a council at Carthage in 256, some from the distant Numidia.

Christians were still a minority at the end of the 3rd century in all levels of society even after Constantine's adoption of Christianity as the state religion. In AD 313, a division occurred among the African Christians that lasted more than a century. Some Numidian bishops rejected Caecilian as the new bishop of Carthage and they chose successive rival bishops. The second was Donatus who gave his name to the schism. Donatus was well accepted especially in Numidia and his followers claimed that they were the true church. Outside Africa, however, Caecilian was recognized as bishop of Carthage, and the emperor Constantine, when appealed to by the Donatists, recognised Caecilian and his followers as the true church. For the rest of the century the Donatians probably made up half of the Christians in North Africa. In 347 the emperor Constans exiled a number of Donatist bishops and took repressive measures against the Donatists. In 362 Julian the Apostate allowed the return of the exiles and the movement proved as strong as ever. Augustine of Hippo Regius allowed orthodox Christian rulers to use force against schismatics and heretics. In 411 an imperial commission summoned a conference at Carthage and the Donatists had to obey the decision that broke the schism as a powerful movement although some communities still existed in the 6th century.

Donatism is said to have been particularly associated with the rural population of less Romanised areas and with the poorer classes in the towns, whereas orthodox Christianity was the religion of the Romanised upper classes. In Numidia it was at least as strong in the towns as in the rural areas.

160- Dorian

Dorian is the name of the members of a major division of the ancient Greek people, distinguished by their dialect and by their subdivision into the "tribes" of Hylleis, Pamphyloi, and Dymanes. The Dorian people are thought to be the conquerors of the Peloponnese (1100-1000 BC). In Greek tradition, the Dorians took their name from Doris, a small district in central Greece. In fact, the origins of the Dorians are obscure, but it is now believed that they originated in northern and northwestern Greece (Macedonia and Epirus). From there they went southward into central Greece and then into the southern Aegean area in successive migrations beginning about 1100 BC, at the end of the Bronze Age. The Dorians had a low cultural level, and their only innovation was the iron sword. The Dorians defeated the Mycenaeans and Minoans of southern Greece and draw the region into a dark age from which the Greek city-states emerged almost three centuries later.

161- Dualism

In philosophy, Dualism is the theory that the universe is composed of two distinct and mutually irreducible elements. In Platonic philosophy the ultimate dualism is between "being" and "non-being" -that is, between ideas and matter. In the 17th century, dualism took the form of belief in two fundamental substances: mind and matter. French philosopher René Descartes, was the first to emphasise the irreconcilable difference between thinking substance (mind) and extended substance (matter). The difficulty created by this view was to explain how mind and matter interact in human experience. Some Cartesians denied any interaction between the two; they asserted that mind and matter are inherently incapable of affecting each other, and that any reciprocal action between the two is caused by God, who, on the occasion of a change in one, produces a corresponding change in the other.

In the 20th century one of the most interesting defender of dualism was the Anglo-American psychologist William McDougall, who divided the universe into spirit and matter and maintained that evidence, psychological and biological, indicates the spiritual basis of physiological processes. French philosopher Henri Bergson likewise took a dualistic position, defining matter as what we perceive with our senses and possessing in it the qualities that we perceive in it, such as colour and resistance. Mind, on the other hand, reveals itself as memory, the faculty of storing up the past and utilising it for modifying our present actions. In his later writings, however, Bergson abandoned dualism and came to regard matter as an arrested manifestation of the same vital impulse that composes life and mind.

Dualism in ethics describes the recognition of the independent and opposing principles of good and evil. This dualism is exemplified in Zoroastrianism and in the Manichaean religion.

162- Earth Mother

The Earth Mother, in antiquity and today less advanced societies, is the source of everything. She is simply the mother. All things come from her, return to her, and are her. The most archaic form of the Earth Mother transcends all specificity and sexuality. She simply produces everything, inexhaustibly, from herself. She may manifest herself in any form. In other mythological systems she becomes the feminine Earth, consort of the masculine sky; she is fertilized by the sky in the beginning and brings terrestrial creation. More limited concepts of the Earth Mother occur in agricultural traditions where she is only the Earth and its fertility.

163- Eastern Church

See "Orthodox Church".

164- Ebionites

By the middle of the first century AD there were at least three schools of Christian Gnosticism. Among them was the Ebionites School or "Poor Ones", the other being the Paulists and the Simonians. They were divided by the definition of the relationship of Christianity to traditional Jewish religions. The Paulists were internationalists who wanted to free Christianity from close ties with Judaism, but their view was moderate. They saw Christianity as fulfilling, and therefore surpassing Judaism. The Simonians were radical internationalists who rejected Judaism and their god Jehovah as Literalist nonsense.

Ebionites (Hebrew ebyön, "poor") is the name given in the 2nd and 3rd centuries to a group of Jewish Christians who retained much of Judaism in their beliefs. The Ebionites were nationalist who saw Christianity as a Jewish cult and wanted Christians to conform to all the traditional Jewish religious customs. The sect probably originated when the old church of Jerusalem was dispersed by an edict of the Roman emperor Hadrian in AD 135; some of the Jewish Christians migrated across the Jordan River into Peraea, cutting themselves off from the main body of the Christian church. They adopted a conservative Pharisaic creed at first, but after the 2nd century, some of them espoused a mixture of Essenism, Gnosticism, and Christianity. According to Irenaeus, they differed from orthodox Christians in denying the divinity of Christ and in considering Paul an apostate for having declared the supremacy of Christian teaching over the Mosaic Law. Origen classified the Ebionites in two groups, those who believed in the virgin birth and those who rejected it. Both the Sabbath and the Christian Lord's Day were holy to them, and they expected the establishment of a messianic kingdom in Jerusalem. Until the 5th century, remnants of the sect were known to have existed in Palestine and Syria.

165- Ecclesia (or Ekklesia in Greek)

In ancient Greece, "gathering of those summoned", that is the assembly of citizens in a city-state. The Athenian Ecclesia, for which exists the most detailed record, was already functioning in Draco's day (c. 621 BC). Following Solon's codification of the law (c. 594 BC), the Ecclesia became the assembly of male citizens over 18 years and had final control over policy, including the right to hear appeals in the heliaia (public court), take part in the election of archons (chief magistrates), and confer special privileges on individuals. In the Athens of the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the prytaneis, a committee of the Boule (council), summoned the Ecclesia both for regular meetings, held four times in each 10th of the year, and for special sessions. Since motions had to originate in the Boule, the Ecclesia could not initiate new business. After discussion open to all members, a vote was taken, a simple majority determining the result. Assemblies of this sort existed in most Greek city-states, continuing to function throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods, though under the Roman Empire their powers gradually atrophied. The similarity of the religious vocabulary is also great with, for instance, the mystery religions adopting many expressions like Ekklesia for the assembly of the mystai.

166- Eclecticism

Eclecticism (Greek, "to pick out"), in philosophy and art describes the formulation of systems of thought by choosing from the doctrines of other already developed systems. Eclectic thinkers combine what, according to them, are the most valid doctrines.

Eclecticism flourished in Greece, beginning about the 2nd century BC when there was a decline in the intellectual inquiry that had motivated the great Greek philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle. Later Greek philosophers adopted the doctrines that pleased them most: Antiochus of Ascalon combined Stoicism and scepticism, and Panaetius (circa 185-109 BC) did the same with Platonism and Stoicism. Roman thinkers were notably eclectic.

The early Christian philosophers, Clement of Alexandria and Origen developed their systems from elements of Greek metaphysics combined with Judeo-Christian thought expressed in the Old and New Testaments. Meister Eckhart formulated a system of Christian philosophy based on Aristotle and his medieval Arabic commentators, on Neoplatonism, and on Jewish doctrine.

167- Ecstasy

Ecstasy means "to stand outside of, or transcend oneself"; in mysticism it is the experience of an inner vision of God or of one's relation to, or union, with the divine. Various methods have been used to achieve ecstasy:

- Purgation (of bodily desire).

- Purification (of the will).

- Illumination (of the mind).

- Unification (of one's being or will with the divine).

Other methods are: dancing; the use of sedatives and stimulants; and the use of certain drugs, such as peyote, mescaline, hashish, LSD, and similar. In certain ancient Israelite prophetic groups, music was used to achieve the ecstatic state. The Pythia (priestess) of the Greek oracle at Delphi often went into an ecstatic state during which she uttered sounds revealed to her by the python (the snake, the symbol of resurrection), after drinking water from a certain spring. In primitive religions, ecstasy was a technique highly developed by shamans.

168- Egalitarians

Christian Gnostics, like the Pagan philosophers Antiphon, Epicurus, Diogene and Zeno, were political radicals who preached liberty, equality, and fraternity centuries before the French revolution. Carpocrates and his son, Epiphanes,

169- Egyptian Mythology

Mythology was the religion of ancient Egypt. The religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians were the dominating influence on their culture, although they never had a true religion. The Egyptian faith was based on a loose collection of ancient myths, nature worship, and innumerable deities.

According to the Egyptian account of creation, only the ocean existed at first. Then Ra, the sun, came out of an egg (a flower, in some versions). Ra brought forth four children, the gods Shu and Geb and the goddesses Tefnut and Nut. Shu and Tefnut became the atmosphere. They stood on Geb, who became the earth, and raised up Nut, who became the sky. Ra ruled over all. Geb and Nut later had two sons, Set and Osiris, and two daughters, Isis and Nephthys. Osiris succeeded Ra as king of the earth, helped by Isis, his sister-wife. Set hated his brother and killed him. Isis embalmed her husband's body with the help of the god Anubis, who thus became the god of embalming. The charms of Isis resurrected Osiris, who became king of the netherworld, the land of the dead. Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, later defeated Set in a great battle and became king of the earth.

From this myth of creation came the conception of the ennead, a group of nine divinities, and the triad, consisting of a divine father, mother, and son. Every local temple in Egypt possessed its own ennead and triad. The greatest ennead was that of Ra and his children and grandchildren. This group was worshipped at Heliopolis, the centre of sun worship. The origin of the local deities is obscure; some of them were taken over from foreign religions, and some were originally the animal gods of prehistoric Africa. Gradually, they were all fused into a complicated religious structure. The important divinities included the gods Amon, Thoth, Ptah, Khnemu, and Hapi, and the goddesses Hathor, Mut, Neit, and Sekhet. Their importance increased with the political ascendancy of the localities where they were worshipped. During the 5th Dynasty the pharaohs began to claim divine ancestry and from that time on were worshipped as sons of Ra.

The Egyptian gods were represented with human torsos and human or animal heads. Sometimes the animal or bird expressed the characteristics of the god. Ra, for example, had the head of a hawk, and the hawk was sacred to him because of its swift flight across the sky; Hathor, the goddess of love and laughter, was given the head of a cow, which was sacred to her; Anubis was given the head of a jackal because these animals ravaged the desert graves in ancient times; Mut was vulture headed and Thoth was ibis headed; and Ptah was given a human head, although he was occasionally represented as a bull, called Apis. Because of the gods to which they were attached, the sacred animals were venerated. The gods were also represented by symbols, such as the sun disk and hawk wings that were worn on the headdress of the pharaoh.

The only important god who was worshipped with consistency was Ra, chief of cosmic deities, from whom early Egyptian kings claimed descent. Beginning with the Middle Kingdom (2134-1668 BC), Ra worship acquired the status of a state religion, and the god was gradually fused with Amon during the Theban dynasties, becoming the supreme god Amon-Ra. During the 18th Dynasty the pharaoh Amenhotep III renamed the sun god Aton, an ancient term for the physical solar force. Amenhotep's son and successor, Amenhotep IV, instituted a revolution in Egyptian religion by proclaiming Aton the true and only god.

Burying the dead was important, and Egyptian funerary rituals and equipment became very elaborate. The Egyptians believed that the vital life-force was composed of several psychical elements, the most important being the ka. The ka, a duplicate of the body, accompanied the body throughout life and, after death, departed from the body to take its place in the kingdom of the dead. As the ka could not exist without the body every effort had to be made to preserve the corpse. Bodies were embalmed and mummified according to a traditional method supposedly begun by Isis. Wood or stone replicas of the body were put into the tomb in the event that the mummy was destroyed.

After leaving the tomb, the souls of the dead supposedly were beset by innumerable dangers. The tombs were furnished with a copy of the Book of the Dead, a guide to the world of the dead, which consists of charms designed to overcome these dangers. After arriving in the kingdom of the dead, the ka was judged by Osiris, the king of the dead. If the judges decided the deceased had been a sinner, the ka was condemned to hunger and thirst or to be torn to pieces. If the decision was favourable, the ka went to the heavenly realm of the fields of Yaru.

170- Eidolon

Eidolon is a noun that describes an image, a spectre, or a phantom. Eidolon is a Gnostic concept that can be explained as our apparent identity or "image". It is like a reflexion in a mirror of who we appear to be but not who we really are. In modern spiritual language, the ideolon is the "ego".

171- Elephantine Papyri

The elephantine papyri are Aramaic documents of the 5th century BC found on Elephantine Island opposite Aswan, Egypt around 1900. They refer to the period of Ezra and Nehemiah and are useful for Old Testament and Semitic studies.

172- Eleusinian mysteries

The Eleusinian mysteries were the most important sacred rituals of the religious festivals in ancient Greece. They were based on the divinities Demeter and Persephone and they got their name from the town of Eleusis, in Attica, near Athens. Long before the rise of Athens, the people of Eleusis observed the mysteries, which were later on adopted by Athens. The most important part of the festival was the initiation of the candidates that took place every year for centuries in the Telesterion at Eleusis. A series of rituals started in the spring with the celebration of the Lesser Mysteries at Agrae, near Athens. At that time the mystoe, the candidates for the first of four stages in the revelation of the mysteries, were told the legend of Demeter and Persephone or Kore (Greek, "the maiden"). Purification rites were part of the ceremony of the Lesser Mysteries. The autumn ceremonies, called the Greater Mysteries, began with carrying sacred objects from Eleusis to Athens by youths known as ephebi. The ceremonies included an address by a priest to the candidates, a cleansing in the sea, a sacrificial rite, and a great procession from Athens to Eleusis, where the initiation occurred in secret ceremonies.

The tale of Demeter's search through the underworld for her daughter Persephone, a part of the initiation, was related to the search for immortality and happiness in a future world, the presumed purpose of the ceremony.

173- Elkesaites

The Elkesaites were members of a Gnostic Judeo- Christian Baptist sect founded by Elkesai. Elkesai (the hidden power of God) was a Syrian prophet (about 100 AD) who claimed special revelations. Like the Ebionites they held Docetic views of Christ, kept Mosaic Laws, they denounced Paul and the "Way of the Greeks", and believed in the redeeming efficacity of baptism. Mani's father was a member of this sect.

174- Elohist Source

Elohist Source, also called E Source, describes a biblical source and one of four that comprises the original literary constituents of the Pentateuch. It is so called because of its use of the Hebrew term Elohim for God, and hence labelled E, in contrast with another discerned source that uses the term YHWH and is labelled J (after the German transliteration of YHWH).

175- Elyon

Elyon is a word meaning "Most High".

176- Emanation

Emanation (to flow out in Latin) means, in philosophy and theology, an outflowing of the transcendentally divine that accounts for the origin of the universe. The word emanation was first used to describe divine procreation in Hellenistic Jewish works of the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. The use of the concept of emanation to explain universal origins was due to Gnostic and Neoplatonic speculation. The process is understood in Gnostic works as the overflowing of the highest deity's superabundant greatness. In most Gnostic cosmologies, the last emanation, Wisdom, attempts to accomplish a creation on her own. This results in an inferior emanation, a demiurge that is ultimately responsible for the creation of the material world, in which the divine essence of humanity is held captive. This imprisoned spirit (pneumatic) must then be recalled and redeemed to the higher divine order. Under the influence of Neoplatonic works, theories of emanation were elaborated by later Christian, Muslim, and medieval Jewish philosophers. Orthodox Christian and Jewish theologies, however, emphasize the clear distinction between the divine and the mundane in the creative.

177- Emperor, Roman

The title "Emperor" was given to the sovereigns of the ancient Roman Empire. In republican Rome (c. 509-27 BC), imperator denoted a victorious general, so named by his troops or by the Senate. Under the empire (after 27 BC), it was regularly adopted by the ruler as a forename and gradually came to apply to his office. The first was Augustus (31BC-14AD) and the second Tiberius (14-37 AD).

178- Encratite

The Encratite were the members of an ascetic Christian sect led by Tatian, a 2nd-century Syrian rhetorician. The name derived from the group's doctrine of continence. The sect forbad marriage, the eating of flesh, and the drinking of intoxicating beverages, even substituting water or milk for wine in the Eucharist. Tatian, after Justin's martyrdom (c. AD 165), became a dualist and a Gnostic, severed his ties with the church, and returned to Syria, where his association with the Encratites began. He reinterpreted some of the Pauline texts of the New Testament to make them concur with the Encratite view that marriage was licentious and a service of the devil. Eusebius of Caesarea wrote that the Encratites rejected the Pauline Letters and The Acts of the Apostles.

179- Ennoia

In the beginning, the Gnostics believed that there was only the transcendent God, a male principle that existed for eternity with a female principle, the Ennoia (Thought). Together they produced two archetypes, Mind (male) and Truth (female).

180- Epicurianism

Epicurianism is the philosophy of the ancient Greek Epicurus (341-270 BC. Epicureanism includes:

- In physics, Atomism and a largely mechanical conception of causality, with the gods remaining extraneous.

- In ethics, the identification of good with pleasure and the absence of pain, utility and the limitation of desire.

- A withdrawn and quiet life enriched by the company of friends.

As the society that he gathered round him included women as well as men, it frequently met with public scandal and even persecution. Epicurian communities were founded throughout the Mediterranean world.

181- Epiphany

Epiphany comes from a Greek word meaning "manifestation". It is one of the three oldest feasts of the Christian Church (including Easter and Christmas); it is celebrated on January 6. It commemorates the first manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi, and the manifestation of his divinity, as it occurred at his Baptism and at his first miracle at Cana. The festival originated in the Eastern Church, where it included a commemoration of Christ's birth. From 354, the Roman Catholics celebrated Christ's birth on December 25 and, in the 4th century, the church in Rome began celebrating Epiphany on January 6. In the Western Church the festival primarily commemorates the visit by the Magi to the infant Jesus. In the East it primarily commemorates the Baptism of Jesus.

182- Epithumia

Epithumia is a term describing the irrational and animal nature or life. It is found in Matter, and when in harmony with the Soul's intelligence, it manifests itself as Courage and does not fear.

183- Erinyes

Erinyes, were avenging spirits in Greek mythology. Their origin is obscure.

184- Eschatology

Eschatology means, "discourse about the last things". It is a doctrine concerning life after death and the final stage of the world. The origin of this doctrine is almost as old as humanity; archaeological evidence of customs in the Old Stone Age indicates a rudimentary concept of immortality. Speculation about things to come was never limited to the individual's fate. Such natural phenomena as floods, conflagrations, cyclones, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions have always suggested the possibility of the end of the world. The development of eschatological speculation reflects the growth of human intellectual and moral perceptions, the larger social experience of men, and their increased knowledge of nature

Belief in a life of the spirit, a substance inhabiting the dead body, is typical of primitive eschatology. The concept of the future life improved as civilisation advanced and cosmic forces became objects of worship associated with departed spirits. The belief in judgement after death was introduced and the spirits were thought to be subject to the laws of retribution. Accordingly the future life was made spiritual and assumed a moral character, as in ancient Egypt. In Persia and Israel, the old conception of a shadowy existence in some subterranean realm endured. In India, the spirit was conceived as entering into another body after death to live again and die and become reincarnated in new forms. The ancient Greeks considered the mind as a purely spiritual essence, independent of the body, and having no beginning or end; this concept of immortality led to the anticipation of a personal life after death.

The belief in a coming destruction of the world by fire or flood is found in the Pacific islands and among Native Americans. The ancient Persians, who adopted the doctrines of Zoroaster, developed the idea of the future destruction of the world by fire into the concept of a great moral ordeal. This concept is found in the Gathas, the earliest part of the Avesta, the bible of Zoroastrianism. The ancient Greek concepts of heaven and hell and those of Christian doctrine have similarities. The Greeks saw the future of the soul in Elysium or in Hades. Through the Orphic and Eleusinian mysteries this thought was deepened.

In early Israel the "Day of Yahweh" was a coming day of battle that would decide the fate of the people. Although the people looked forward to it as a day of victory, prophets such as Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah feared that it would bring near or complete destruction, associating it with the growing military threat from Assyria. The Book of Daniel voices the hope that the kingdom of the world will be given to the Jewish people. After the conquest of Palestine in 63 BC, the Jews longed for a descendant of the line of David, king of Israel and Judah, who would break the Roman yoke, establish the empire of the Jews, and rule as a righteous king over the subject nations. This desire ultimately led to the rebellion in AD 66-70 that brought about the destruction of Jerusalem. When Jesus Christ proclaimed the coming of the kingdom of heaven he was seen by some Jews to be a claimant to the kingship of the Jews and his disciples were convinced that he would return as the Messiah. Christian eschatology has traditionally included the second advent of Christ, or Parousia, the resurrection of the dead, the last judgement, the immortality of the soul, and the concepts of heaven and hell. In the Roman Catholic Church, eschatology includes also the beatific vision, purgatory, and limbo. Islam adopted from Judaism and Christianity the doctrine of a coming judgement, a resurrection of the dead, and everlasting punishments and rewards. Later, the belief in the reincarnation of some great prophet from the past was accepted.

Liberal modern Christian thought has emphasised the soul and the kingdom of God, coming on earth in each individual and not as an apocalyptic event at the end of time. In modern Judaism the return of Israel to its land, the coming of the Messiah, the resurrection of the dead, and everlasting retribution are still expected by the Orthodox, but the liberal base the religious mission of Israel upon the regeneration of the human race and upon hope for immortal life independent of the resurrection of the body.

185- Essenes

The Essenes were members of a Jewish religious order, organised on a communal basis and practicing strict asceticism. The order existed in Palestine and Syria from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD. The main settlements were on the shores of the Dead Sea. The Essenes are not mentioned in the Bible or in rabbinical literature. Information regarding them is confined to the writings of Philo Judaeus, Pliny the Elder Flavius Josephus. The fundamental teachings of the order were love of God, love of virtue, and love of one's fellow humans.

Important features of the organization were community of property, distributed according to need; strict observance of the Sabbath; and scrupulous cleanliness, which involved washing in cold water and wearing white garments. Prohibited were swearing, taking oaths, animal sacrifice, the making of weapons, and participation in trade or commerce. The order drew its recruits either from children it had adopted or from the ranks of those who had renounced material things. A probation of three years was required before the novice could take the oath of full membership, which demanded complete obedience and secrecy. Breaking the oath was punishable by expulsion. The requirement that no unclean food should be eaten led, very often, to death by starvation.

After 1947 new light was thrown on the Essenes by certain ancient Hebrew scrolls discovered near the Dead Sea at Khirbat Qumran, which may have been the site of an Essene community of the 1st century AD.

186- Eternity

Man who saw the sky as the image of transcendence has long recorded the apparent regularity of the heavenly bodies. The orderly course of Sun, Moon, and stars suggested a time that transcended man's, in short, eternity. Many myths and mythological images concern themselves with the relationship between eternity and time on earth. Some mythologies, for example those of the Maya in Central America, have developed sophisticated views interrelating time and space. Mythological accounts of rebirth of worlds after their destruction occur not only in India but also in Orphism and in the Stoic philosophy.

187- Eucharist

Eucharist or Lord's Supper is the central rite of the Christian religion, in which bread and wine are consecrated by an ordained minister and consumed by the minister and members of the congregation in obedience to Jesus' command at the Last Supper, "Do this in remembrance of me." In the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, and in the Anglican, Lutheran, and many other Protestant churches, it is regarded as a sacrament, which both symbolises and realises the union of Christ with the faithful. Baptists and others refer to Holy Communion as an "institution," rather than a sacrament, emphasizing obedience to a commandment. See Also Grace.

The practice of eating meals in remembrance of the Lord and the belief in the presence of Christ in the "breaking of the bread" were universal in the early church.

188- Evangelist

Evangelist is a term used in the New Testament to designate any of the workers in the apostolic church who travelled to distant places to announce the gospel and to prepare the way for more extensive missionary work on the part of the apostles.

In post apostolic times the term evangelist was applied to a writer of a Gospel, that is, to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Traditionally, the four evangelists are symbolized by emblematic figures derived from the prophetic vision of Ezekiel and from Revelation. It was agreed that Matthew should be represented by the head of a man; Mark by a lion, the inhabitant of the desert; Luke by a sacrificial ox; and John by an eagle.

Since the Reformation, especially in Methodism, the term evangelist has been applied to any itinerant preacher who attempts to bring about conversion among masses of people.

189- Evil

Evil means that which is morally bad or wrong, or that which causes harm, pain, or misery. In theology, the problem of evil arises if it is accepted that evil exists in a universe governed by a supreme being who is both good and omnipotent.

The problem of evil has been a central concern of philosophers and of all the major religions. Some of the solutions proposed have rested on a denial either of the existence of evil or of the omnipotence of God. In Hindu teaching, for instance, evil has no real existence, being part of the illusory world of phenomena. In the ancient Persian religion Zoroastrianism and the related ancient Middle Eastern sect known as Manichaeism, evil is attributed to the existence of an evil deity, against whom the good deity must struggle.

190- Excommunication

Excommunication is an ecclesiastical censure where a member of a church is deprived of the benefits and privileges of membership. Excommunication is the most serious ecclesiastical censure; it is intended, as a corrective rather than a vindictive form of punishment.

In the time of Christ, excommunication was a recognized penalty among the Jews. The Mishnah distinguishes between two degrees of excommunication:

- The milder (niddui) involved exclusion from community life for 7 to 30 days, with the performance of penance and the wearing of mourning.

- The heavier sentence (cherem) was more formal, involving a ritual of solemn curses and lasting an indefinite time.

A similar power of excommunication was recognized in the early Christian church with two degrees:

- Minor excommunication involved exclusion from the sacrament of the Eucharist and from the full privileges of the church.

- Major excommunication was pronounced upon obstinate sinners, relapsed apostates, and heretics; its form was more solemn, and it was less easily revoked.

In the early church no civil consequences were connected with excommunication, but later on, major excommunication implied the loss of political rights and exclusion from public office.

The leaders of the Reformation also claimed the power of excommunication. Civil disabilities followed excommunication in communities associated with the Reformed Churches, but this practice eventually ceased to be the rule. Nevertheless, in England until 1813, persons excommunicated were barred from bringing legal actions into civil court, from serving on juries, from appearing as witnesses in any legal proceeding, and from practicing as attorneys in any court of the realm.

191- Exile

Exile, in this context, refers to the banishment of the Jews into captivity in Babylonia after the fall of the Kingdom of Judah.

192- Exodus

Exodus, in this context, refers to the escape of the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt in the 13th century BC under the leadership of Moses and accomplished by their miraculous crossing of the Red Sea.

193- Exorcism

Exorcism is the act of breaking the power of the Devil or other evil spirits that influence or control a person's actions. Exorcism presupposes the existence of the Devil as an evil force in the lives of human beings.

The Devil's influence has many degrees. He can tempt a person to do something wrong, such as lie or commit a crime. He can even dominate an individual by temporarily taking control of the person's body.

When an evil spirit takes control of an individual or of an individual's actions, the person is said to be possessed. A possessed person may go into convulsions, acquire extraordinary strength, or shout curses--with no apparent explanation. Sometimes the evil spirit affects objects near the possessed person. For example, the spirit might cause objects to fly through the air. An evil spirit also could take control of a room or of an entire building.

Possession is difficult to verify because the phenomenon could result from causes other than evil spirits. For example, a supposedly possessed person might really be suffering a mental or physical illness.

Some Christian denominations and other religions have ceremonies for driving out devils and evil spirits. The New Testament tells that Jesus Christ exorcised devils. Jesus also gave His apostles the power to drive out devils. In the Roman Catholic Church, an exorcism is a ceremony that consists of a series of prayers recited over the possessed person.

194- Exoucontians

Exoucontians (from the Greek "out of non-being") were the followers of Aetius of Antioch and Eunomius of Cyzicus. They were extreme Arians, teaching that the Son is unlike the Father. The Son is begotten, created out of non-being, and therefore of a different nature from the father. They are also known as "Anomoeans (unlike)".

195- Expiation

See "atonement".

196- Faith

Faith is defined as an attitude of the entire self, including both will and intellect, directed toward a person, an idea, or-as in the case of religious faith-a divine being. Modern theologians agree in emphasizing this total existential character of faith, thus distinguishing it from the popular conception of faith that identifies it with belief as opposed to knowledge. Faith includes belief but goes far beyond it, and in the history of theology the distinction has more often been drawn between faith and works than between faith and knowledge.

The most evocative description of faith is in the New Testament (Hebrews 11:1) where faith is defined as "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Here, the word for faith is the Greek pistis, which denotes the act of giving one's trust. For the New Testament writers, faith has found its centre in the believer's relationship to Jesus Christ.

197- Fasting

Fasting is described as the abstention from food, and often also from drink, for a long period. Its origin is unknown. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Confucians, Hindus, Taoists, Jainists, and adherents of other religious faiths have practised fasting for centuries in connection with religious ceremonies. Buddhism stresses moderation in eating rather than fasting, but in Tibet they observe certain fasts.

The main purpose for fasting is a way for people to ask pardon for their misdeeds. In some religions, people fast during times of mourning. In others, the people believe that fasting produces a state of spiritual joy and happiness.

Originally, fasting was one of a number of rites in which physical activities were reduced or suspended, resulting in a state, symbolically, similar to death, or to the state preceding birth. Fasts were also part of the fertility rites in primitive ceremonies, to avert catastrophe, to serve as penance for sin, or to appease the gods. The Assyrians and the Babylonians and others observed fasts as a form of penance. Jews fasted annually on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, as a form of penitence and purification. The fast by day, but not after dark, observed by Muslims during the month of Ramadan also is a form of atonement.

The early Christians associated fasting with penitence and purification. During their first two centuries, the Christian church established fasting as a voluntary preparation for receiving the sacraments of Holy Communion and baptism and for the ordination of priests. Later, these fasts became obligatory. In the 6th century the Lenten fast was expanded from its original 40 hours, the time spent by Christ in the grave, to 40 days. After the Reformation, fasting was retained by most Protestant churches and was made optional in some cases. The Orthodox Church observes fasts rigorously.

In modern times the hunger strike, a form of fasting, has been employed as a political weapon. People have also fasted for health reasons.

198- Fate

In Greek and Roman mythology, Fate is any of three goddesses who determined human destinies, the span of a person's life, and his share of misery and suffering. From the 8th century BC on, the Fates were personified as three very old women who spin the threads of human destiny. Their names were Clotho (Spinner of the human fate), Lachesis (dispenser of the human fate), and Atropos (Inflexible, cut the thread and thus determine the individual's time of death. The Roman goddesses were named Nona, Decuma, and Morta.

199- Father (God as Father)

The concept of God as Father is typical of the Christian faith. The religious experience that forms the basis of the teaching of Jesus is the recognition that the Messiah-Son of man is the Son of God. The special relationship of Jesus to God is expressed through his designation of God as Father. In prayers Jesus used the Aramaic word abba ("father") for God. This father-son relationship became a prototype for the relationship of Christians to God. According to the account of Jesus' baptism, Jesus understood his sonship when a voice from heaven said: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." In John Gospel, this sonship is expressed by Jesus saying: "I and the Father are one".

200- Fathers of the Church

Fathers of the Church are any of the great bishops and other eminent Christian teachers of the early centuries, whose writings defined the true doctrine of the Church, especially in reference to controverted points of faith or practice.

201- Festivals and Feasts

Feasts and festivals are special times of celebration. Most of them take place once a year and may last for one or more days. Many feasts and festivals honour great leaders, saints, or gods or spirits. Others celebrate a harvest, the beginning of a season or of a year, or the anniversary of a historical event. Most are joyous occasions, but some involve mourning and repentance.

During some feasts and festivals, adults stay away from their jobs, and children stay home from school. Some people celebrate happy events by decorating their homes and streets, wearing special clothes, and exchanging gifts. Many of these celebrations include special meals, dancing, and parades. Solemn occasions may be observed with fasts, meditation, and prayer.

In most secular society, communal celebrations as established by custom or sponsored by various cultural groups or organisations are common. They differ from religious festivals and feasts in that the focus is on the public honouring of outstanding persons, the commemoration of important historical or cultural events, or the re-creation of cherished folkways. The origin of communal celebration is unknown. Some people believe that these festivals arose because early peoples did not understand the forces of nature and wished to placate them. The most ancient festivals and feasts were associated with planting and harvest times or with honouring the dead. These have continued as secular festivals, with some religious overtones, into modern times. The beginnings of many secular celebrations are linked to historic happenings. In prehistoric societies, festivals provided an opportunity for the elders to pass on their knowledge and the meaning of tribal lore to younger generations. Festivals celebrating the founding of a nation or the date of withdrawal of foreign invader aim to bind its citizens. Modern festivals and feasts centring on the customs of national or ethnic groups enrich understanding of their heritage.

In the past, nearly all feasts and festivals were religious. Today, many of them celebrate nonreligious events. In Christianity, the most important festivals recall major events in the life of Jesus Christ. These festivals include Christmas, which celebrates His birth; and Easter, His Resurrection. Other Christian festivals honour the Virgin Mary, various saints, and the founding of the church. In Judaism, the most sacred festivals are Rosh Ha-Shanah, the Jewish New Year; and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Many Jewish festivals commemorate major events in Jewish history. For example, Passover celebrates the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. Hanukkah is a celebration of a Jewish victory over the Syrians in 165 B.C. Purim honours the rescue of the Jews of Persia (now Iran) from a plot to kill them. All followers of Islam observe two celebrations -the Feast of Sacrifice (the last day of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca) and the Feast of Fast-Breaking (held on the first day following Ramadan). Many Muslims celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, born in about 570. Muslims who belong to the Shiite division of Islam set aside a day to mourn the death of Husayn, a grandson of Muhammad. Buddhists hold two principal kinds of festivals. The first type of festival commemorates several key events in the life of Buddha -chiefly his birth, enlightenment, and death. The second type of Buddhist festival honours the community of Buddhist monks. Hindus hold festivals to honour each of the hundreds of Hindu gods and goddesses. All Hindus, chiefly in their homes and villages, observe a few festivals such as Holi and Dipivali (popularly called Diwali. During the festival of Diwali, which honours several Hindu gods, including the goddess of wealth and beauty, Hindus decorate houses and streets with lights.

202- Filioque

The Filioque clause (Latin filioque, "and from the son"), inserted after the words "the Holy Spirit . . . who proceedeth from the Father," was introduced in the Western Church Creed in the 6th century and it was accepted by the papacy in the 11th century. The Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant churches have retained it. The Eastern churches have always rejected it because they consider it theological error and an unauthorized addition to a venerable document, the Nicene Creed.

203- Fish

Fish is a symbol used in Christian art and literature from the 2d century AD as symbol of Christ and, sometimes, of the newly baptised.

204- Friar

The word Friar (from Latin frater through French frère, "brother") describes one belonging to a Roman Catholic religious order of mendicants. Formerly, friar was the title given to individual members of these orders but this is no longer common. The 10 mendicant orders are the Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians (Augustian Hermits), Carmelites, Trinitarians, Mercedarians, Servites, Minims, Hospitallers of St. John of God, and the Teutonic Order (the Austrian branch).

205- Galatia

Galatia is an ancient region of Asia Minor on the great central plateau of Turkey, named for the Galatians, a Gallic people from Europe who settled here in the early 3rd century BC. In addition to the Gauls, many Greeks settled in the region, and it eventually became Hellenised; the inhabitants, therefore, were often referred to as Gallo-Graeci. Dominated by Rome through regional rulers from 189 BC, Galatia and adjacent regions became a Roman province in 25 BC.

206- Galilee

Galilee is a region located in northern Israel. At the beginning of the Christian era, Galilee was a Roman province comprising all of what was then northern Palestine west of the Jordan River and Lake Tiberias. During ancient times the area contained numerous towns and villages and was heavily populated with Syrians, Phoenicians, Arabs, Greeks, and Jews. In the AD 20s, Galilee was the centre of Jesus Christ's ministry

207- Gematria

Gematria is the substitution of numbers for letters of the Hebrew alphabet, a favourite method of exegesis used by medieval Kabbalists to derive mystical insights into sacred writings or obtain new interpretations of the texts. Some condemned its use as mere toying with numbers, but others considered it a useful tool, especially when difficult or ambiguous texts otherwise failed to yield satisfactory analysis. Genesis 28:12, for example, relates that in a dream Jacob saw a ladder (Hebrew sullam) stretching from earth to heaven. Since the numerical value of the word sullam is 130 (60 + 30 + 40)--the same numerical value of Sinai (60 + 10 + 50 + 10)--exegetes concluded that the Law revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai is man's means of reaching heaven. Of the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, the first ten are given number values consecutively from one to ten, the next eight from 20 to 90 in intervals of ten, while the final four letters equal 100, 200, 300, and 400, respectively. More complicated methods have been used, such as employing the squares of numbers or making a letter equivalent to its basic value plus all numbers preceding it.

208- Genesis

Genesis is a book of the Old Testament, the first book of the Bible; it tells of the beginning of the world from the time when "God created the heaven and the earth" until the death of Joseph, the 11th son of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob. The book falls into two unequal parts. The first part (chapters 1-11) is concerned with the initial history of humankind and contains stories about the first man and the first woman, their disobedience, the first murderer and his victim, the flood that God sent to destroy all things save the immediate family of one "just man" (6:9) and the creatures committed to him for preservation. The first part of Genesis also contains the first covenant made by God with humanity in the person of Noah (9:9-17). The second part (chapters 12-50) is mainly an account of the lives of the Hebrew patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that is, a history of the origins of the Hebrew nation.

Genesis aims to describe the creation and the history to God, and to explain the role of Israel in the world. The Book of Genesis was compiled from several sources dating from between the 10th century and the 5th century BC. Genesis is still seen by many as a literal account of creation. Others see the book as myth or legend.

209- Gentiles

The word Gentile describes a person who is not Jewish. The word stems from the Hebrew term goy, which means a "nation". The plural, goyim, or ha-goyim, "the nations," meant nations of the world that were not Hebrew. In post-biblical Hebrew, goy came to mean an individual non-Jew rather than a "nation." Because most non-Jews in the Western world were Christians, Gentile came to be equated with Christian although any non-Jew is a Gentile. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), whose members regard themselves as the true Hebrews, "Gentile" denotes any person, including a Jew, who is not a Mormon.

210- Gethsemane

Gethsemane (Aramaic, "oil press"), in biblical times, was a small olive grove situated on the Mount of Olives, just outside Jerusalem. In agony over his betrayal by Judas Iscariot, Jesus Christ withdrew from his disciples to Gethsemane on the eve of his crucifixion.

211- Gnosis

Gnosis means revealed knowledge, spiritual knowledge, or insight.

212- Gnosticism

Gnosticism was a religious and philosophical movement in Europe and the Middle East that flourished from about the A.D. 100's to the 700's and presented a major challenge to orthodox Christianity. There were many Christian and non-Christian Gnostic sects. However, they all believed they had secret knowledge about the nature of the universe and the origin and destiny of humanity. Gnostics believed that people could attain salvation only by acquiring gnosis, a Greek word meaning knowledge. Most Gnostics believed in an unknown and remote Supreme Being. An evil and subordinate supernatural being called the Demiurge created the world, which was ruled by evil spirits. Gnostics generally taught that individuals had a divine spark imprisoned in their material body. Through gnosis, that divine spark would be liberated from the basically evil world and united with the Supreme Being.

Most Christian Gnostics believed that Jesus was a divine messenger who brought gnosis to Christians. They claimed Jesus only inhabited a human body temporarily. They thus denied His death on the cross and Resurrection as described in the New Testament. Many philosophies and religions of the ancient world contributed to the origin of Gnosticism.

The Gnostics explained the origin of the material universe with a complicated mythology. From the original unknowable God, lesser divinities were generated by emanation. The last of these, Sophia ("wisdom"), wanted to know the unknowable Supreme Being. Out of this illegitimate desire was produced an evil god, or demiurge, who created the universe. The divine sparks fell into this universe or were sent there by the supreme God to redeem humanity. The Gnostics identified the evil god with the God of the Old Testament. Many Gnostics considered themselves Christians but some sects assimilated only minor Christian elements into a body of non-Christian Gnostic texts. The Christian Gnostics did not recognise the God of the New Testament, the father of Jesus, with the God of the Old Testament. The Gnostics used apocryphal Gospels (such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary) to prove their claim that the risen Jesus told his disciples the true, Gnostic interpretation of his teachings. Christ, the divine spirit, inhabited the body of the man Jesus and did not die on the cross but ascended to the divine realm from which he had come. The Gnostics thus rejected the atoning suffering and death of Christ and the resurrection of the body. Some Gnostic sects rejected all sacraments; others observed baptism and the Eucharist, as signs of the awakening of gnosis. Other Gnostic rites were intended to facilitate the ascent of the divine element of the human soul to the spiritual realm. The ethical teachings of the Gnostics ranged from asceticism to libertinism. The doctrine that the body and the material world are evil led some sects to renounce even marriage and procreation. Other Gnostics held that because their souls were completely alien to this world, it did not matter what they did in it

By the 3rd century Gnosticism began to succumb to orthodox Christian opposition and persecution. The Literalist church centralised authority in the office of bishop. Both Christian theologians and Plotinus attacked the Gnostic view that the material world is essentially evil. Early Christian leaders as Saint Irenaeus attacked the movement for heresy. These attacks stressed the pagan elements in Gnosticism and the Gnostics' unorthodox views about the nature of Jesus. By the end of the 3rd century Gnosticism seems to have largely disappeared.

One small non-Christian Gnostic sect, the Mandaeans, still exists in Iraq and Iran, although it is not certain that it began as part of the original Gnostic movement. Although the ancient sects did not survive, aspects of the Gnostic world view have periodically reappeared in many forms: the ancient dualistic religion called Manichaeism and the related medieval heresies of the Albigenses or Cathari, Bogomils, and Paulicians; the medieval Jewish mystical philosophy known as Cabala; the metaphysical speculation surrounding the alchemy of the Renaissance; 19th-century theosophy; 20th-century existentialism and nihilism; and the writings of the 20th-century Swiss psychologist Carl Jung.

213- God

God is the centre and focus of religious faith, a holy being or ultimate reality to whom worship and prayer are addressed. Especially in monotheistic religions, God is considered the creator or source of everything that exists and is spoken of in terms of perfect attributes-for instance, infinitude, immutability, eternity, goodness, knowledge (omniscience), and power (omnipotence). Most religions traditionally ascribe to God certain human characteristics that can be understood either literally or metaphorically, such as will, love, anger, and forgiveness.

Many religious thinkers have held that God is so different from finite beings that he must be considered essentially a mystery beyond the powers of human conception. Nevertheless, most philosophers and theologians have assumed that a limited knowledge of God is possible and have formulated different conceptions of him in terms of divine attributes and paths of knowledge. In the monotheism of Judaism and Islam, Holy Being is conceived at its most transcendent and personal level. In the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, an attempt is made to synthesize transcendence and immanence. In the Asian religions, the immanence and impersonal nature of Holy Being are stressed (although some forms of Hinduism and Buddhism do not exclude personal aspects of the divine).

214- Godhead

The most daring forms of Christian mysticism have emphasized the absolute unknowability of God. They suggest that true contact with the transcendent involves going beyond all that we speak of as God--even the Trinity--to an inner "God beyond God," a divine Darkness or Desert in which all distinction is lost. The main exponent of this teaching in the early centuries was the Pseudo-Dionysius, who distinguished "the super-essential Godhead" from all positive terms ascribed to God, even the Trinity. The hidden Godhead can be described as "the great Mystery," "the Abyss," "the eternal Stillness." God is eternally the dark mystery of which nothing can be said but ever puts on the nature of light, love, and goodness wherein the divine is revealed to human beings.

215- Gog and Magog

According to the Bible, Gog and Magog were great hostile powers controlled by Satan that will appear just before the end of the world. In Ezekiel 38:2, Magog is also identified as a land, the home of Gog. In later rabbinic literature, Gog and Magog became the conventional symbols for any force opposed to authentic religion or its adherents.

216- Goiim

Goiim is a Hebrew word meaning non-Jews or Gentiles.

217- Golgotha

Golgotha (skull in Hebrew) is the name of the site where Jesus Christ was crucified. The site, a hillock, or rock, derived its name either from its form or from the skulls of executed persons that were found there. The site may have been near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, within the present walls of Jerusalem, but most religious scholars hold that it is outside the Damascus Gate, north of the city.

218- Good Friday

Good Friday is the Friday before Easter, the day on which the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is commemorated each year. From the 2nd century, there are references to fasting and penance on this day by Christians, who, since the time of the early church, had observed every Friday as a fast day in memory of the Crucifixion. In the Eastern Orthodox churches, where Good Friday is known as Great Friday, the Matins service (usually celebrated on Thursday night) includes the reading of the Twelve Passion Gospel Readings. No Eucharist or Holy Communion service is celebrated. At Vespers there is a solemn re-enactment of the burial procession of Christ. In the Anglican churches The Book of Common Prayer provides for a celebration of the Eucharist on Good Friday. In Lutheran and other Protestant churches various services are held, including the Three Hours Service and services with Holy Communion.

219- Gospel

The word Gospel describes each of the four accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ that begin the New Testament. Christian scholars generally agree that all four Gospels, which were written in Greek, draw on earlier Aramaic oral or written sources that preserved many of the actual works and sayings of Jesus.

The first three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are called the Synoptic Gospels because they provide the same general view of the life and teaching of Jesus, they narrate almost the same incidents, often agreeing in the order of events, and use similar phrasing. Until the 19th century it was generally believed that Matthew was the earliest Gospel. Mark, the next one, was believed to be an abridged version of Matthew. Luke was believed to be the latest of the three. This remains the view of some conservative scholars. Some modern scholars, however, believe that Mark is the earliest Gospel and provided much of the narrative material, as well as the chronological framework, for both Matthew and Luke. A collection of sayings of Jesus was the second main document, or source, employed by Matthew and Luke. This document was lost and is usually designated as Q (German Quelle, "source"), but sometimes as Logia (Greek for "words" or "sayings"). The authors of Matthew and Luke may also have drawn material from other sources.

The Gospel attributed to John the Evangelist differs in many respects from the Synoptics. Several incidents do not occur in any of the Synoptics, and others recorded in the Synoptics are not recorded in John. Most important, John gives different dates for the Last Supper and for the Crucifixion. According to John, Jesus' public ministry lasted more than two years, whereas the Synoptists talk about one year. In John, Jesus spends much of his time in Judea while the Synoptists centre his public ministry in Galilee. Modern biblical scholars agree that the Gospel of John was written after the Synoptic Gospels.

220- Grace

In Christian theology, Grace means the spontaneous, unmerited gift of the divine favour in the salvation of sinners, and the divine influence operating in man for his regeneration and sanctification. Christian orthodoxy has taught that the initiative in the relationship of grace between God and man is always on the side of God. Once God has granted this "first grace" man has a responsibility for the continuance of the relationship.

221- Great Mother of the Gods

The Great mother of the Gods, also called CYBELE, CYBEBE, OR AGDISTIS, was an ancient Oriental and Greco-Roman deity, known under many local names. Her worship, according to the legend, started in Phrygia in Asia Minor (now in west-central Turkey. From Asia Minor her cult spread to Greece where the Greeks saw in the Great Mother a resemblance to their own goddess Rhea. The Romans identified her with their goddesses Maia, Ops, Rhea, and Tellus. Her worship was very popular at the end of the Roman Republic, and under the empire it became one of the most important cults in the Roman world. In all of her aspects, Roman, Greek, and Oriental, the Great Mother was characterized by essentially the same qualities; most prominent among them was her universal motherhood. She was the great parent not only of gods but also of human beings and beasts. On March 24, the "Day of Blood," her chief priest, the archigallus, drew blood from his arms and offered it to her, while the lower clergy whirled madly and cut themselves to spread blood on the altar. On March 27 the silver statue of the goddess, with the sacred stone set in its head, was borne in procession and bathed in the Almo, a tributary of the Tiber River. Though her cult also existed by itself, very often that of Attis accompanied the worship of the Great Mother.

222- Hades

Hades, in Greek mythology, was the god of the dead. He was the son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea and the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. When the three brothers divided up the universe after they had deposed their father, Cronus, Hades was awarded the underworld. There, with his queen, Persephone he ruled the kingdom of the dead.

The underworld itself was often called Hades. It was divided into two regions: Erebus, where the dead pass as soon as they die, and Tartarus, the deeper region, where the Titans had been imprisoned. In later legends the underworld is described as the place where the good are rewarded and the wicked punished.

223- Hagiography

Hagiography is the literature describing the lives and veneration of the Christian saints: acts of the martyrs (accounts of their trials and deaths); biographies of saintly monks, bishops, princes, or virgins; and accounts of miracles connected with saints' tombs, relics, icons, or statues. Hagiographies have been written from the 2nd century AD. In the Middle Ages it was customary to read aloud at divine office and in the monastic refectory biographies of the principal saints on their feast days. Perhaps the most important hagiographic collection is the Legenda aurea (Golden Legend) of Jacobus de Voragine in the 13th century. The importance of hagiography derives from the vital role that the veneration of the saints played throughout medieval civilization in both eastern and western Christendom. Second, this literature preserves much valuable information about religious beliefs and customs but also about daily life, institutions, and events in historical periods. The hagiographer has a threefold task: to collect all the material relevant to each particular saint, to edit the documents according to the best methods of textual criticism, and to interpret the evidence by using literary, historical, and any other pertinent criteria.

224- Hallelujah

Hallelujah (also Alleluis and Alleluia) is a Hebrew expression used in Hebrew worship meaning, "praise ye Yah". Translated in modern English as "Alleluia" or "praise the Lord" it is also used in hymns and liturgies of the Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Church of England.

225- Hamitic language

During the 19th century, the work of several scholars suggested that Ancient Egyptian, the Berber languages, certain languages of northeastern Africa called Cushitic (e.g., Galla, Somali, Beja, and Afar [Danakil]), and perhaps others (e.g., Hausa) were remotely related to one another and to the Semitic family. These languages were called Hamitic.

226- Harlot

Harlot means "strange women", but describes really prostitutes.

227- Harranian Religion

The Pagan Harranian religion was followed in the city of Harran in North-West Mesopotamia. Harran was the cult-centre of Mesopot, the moon-god that existed from at least the 19th century BC. It was still a Pagan centre in the 6th century AD. It is frequently mentioned in the Bible. In Roman times, it was the scene of a disastrous defeat of the Roman governor Crassus by the Parthians (53 BC).

228- Hasidaeans

The Hasidaeans were members of a "pious" or devout Jewish religious group in Judea of the early 2d century BC. They were devoted to the Law and refused any compromise with the Greek influence. They were persecuted for opposing the Hellenist policy of Antiochus IV. They supported the Maccabees but they had no political interests, they withdrew after recovery and cleansing of the Temple.

229- Hasidism

Hasidism, also spelled Chasidism (from Hebrew hasid, "pious one"), was a 12th and 13th century Jewish religious movement in Germany; it combined austerity with mysticism. It sought to reach the common people who were dissatisfied with formalistic ritualism and had turned their attention to developing a personal spiritual life, as reflected in the movement's great work, Sefer Hasidim. The leaders of the movement were members of the Kalonymos family that had migrated from Italy, imbued with knowledge of occultism and versed in Kabbalistic traditions connected with the mystical contemplation of "the throne of God". Efforts to experience the mystical presence of God, however, were based on humility and love of God rather than on merkava-like visions.

230- Hasmoneans

Hasmonean, also spelled Hasmonaean, is the name of a dynasty of ancient Judaea, the descendants of the Maccabee family. The name derived from the name of their ancestor Hasmoneus. In 143 (or 142) BC Simon Maccabeus, son of Mathathias and brother of Judas Maccabeus, succeeded his brother Jonathan as leader of the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid dynasty. He soon became independent of the Seleucids as high priest, ruler, and ethnarch of Judaea; the offices were hereditary, and Simon thus became the first of the Hasmonean dynasty. He was succeeded by his son John Hyrcanus I, Aristobulus I, Alexander Jannaeus and his widow Salome Alexandra, Aristobulus II, John Hyrcanus II, and the last Hasmonean, Antigonus, who was deposed and executed by the Romans under Mark Anthony.

231- Heaven

Heaven is where God, gods, or other spiritual beings exist as well as the resting place of the saved, the elect, or the blessed in the afterlife. The term also designates the celestial spheres in contrast to the earth, where men live, and to the underworld, the land of the damned or hell. As celestial space, heaven also is the place of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, all of which give and symbolize light, a quality of the sacred and the good, as opposed to darkness, the quality of the underworld and evil. The concept of heaven is interpreted in various ways in the different religions of the world. Christianity views heaven as the destination of the true believers and followers of Christ. In the Eastern religions, concepts of heaven vary considerably, some being similar to Western religious views and others being very dissimilar.

232- Hell

In theology, hell describes any place or state of punishment and privation for human souls after death. The term is applied to the place or state of eternal punishment of the damned. Belief in a hell was widespread in antiquity and is found in most religions of the world today.

To the early Germans, hell meant a place under the earth to which the souls of all mortals, good or bad, were consigned after death, a conception similar to that of the Hebrew Sheol. Among the early Jews the existence in Sheol was regarded as a shadowy continuation of earthly life where all of the problems of earthly life came to an end

Early Christian writers used the term hell to designate:

- The limbo of infants, where the unbaptised enjoy a natural bliss but are denied the supernatural bliss of the vision of God.

- The limbo of the fathers, in which the souls of the just who died before the advent of Christ await their redemption.

- A place of purgation from minor offences leading inevitably to heaven.

- The place of punishment of Satan, the fallen angels and of all mortals who die unrepentant of serious sin.

The duration of the punishments of hell has been a subject of controversy. Origen taught that punishments were proportionate to the guilt of the individual and that, in time, punishment would cease, and that everyone in hell eventually would be restored to happiness. The Second Council of Constantinople condemned this doctrine in 553, and a belief in the eternity of the punishments in hell became the law. In modern times many have rejected the belief in physical punishment after death and the endless duration of this punishment.

233- Henotheism, or kathenotheism

Henotheism is the belief in worship of one god, though the existence of other gods is granted. It is also called kathenotheism, which literally implies worship of various gods one at a time. Some scholars prefer the term monolatry, which is the worship of one god, whether or not the existence of other deities is implied. Both terms mean that one god has a central and dominating position as if he were the one and only god; however, the existence of other gods was also accepted. It was especially prevalent in some periods in the history of Babylonia and Egypt.

234- Heptad

Early Zoroastrianism, much influenced by the astronomical and astrological sciences of ancient Iran, coordinated the concept of the seven known planetary spheres with its belief in the heptad (grouping of seven) of celestial beings, the amesha spentas of Ahura Mazda:

Spenta Mainyu (the Holy Spirit).

Vohu Mana (Good Mind).

Asha (Truth).

Armaiti (Right Mindedness).

Khshathra (Kingdom).

Haurvatat (Wholeness).

Ameretat (Immortality).

In later Zoroastrianism, though not in the Gathas, Ahura Mazda and Spenta Mainyu were identified with each other, and the remaining bounteous immortals were grouped in an order of six. Over against the bounteous immortals, who helped to link the spiritual and the material worlds together, was the counterpart of the Holy Spirit, namely Angra Mainyu, the Evil Spirit, who later became the great adversary Ahriman (the prototype of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Satan), and the daevas, who were most likely gods of early Indo-Iranian religion.

235- Heresy

Heresy is any religious doctrine opposed to the dogma of a particular church or to the holding of such a belief. A person who believes in a heresy is a heretic. The term originally meant a belief that one arrived at by oneself (Greek hairesis, "choosing for oneself") and is used to denote sectarianism in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles of St. Paul. In later Christian writings, the term is used in the opprobrious sense of a belief held in opposition to the teaching of the church. A number of heretics have formed their own religious groups.

Some teachings have become heresies only after being rejected in favour of other teachings that became orthodox doctrine. For example, early Christians developed several interpretations of New Testament references to a Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. By the late 300's, church authorities officially accepted one interpretation, making the others heresies.

In the late Roman Empire, heresy was considered a crime against the state, punishable by civil law. Heresy was often outlawed in countries with an established or state-supported church. After the Reformation the principles of private interpretation of the Scriptures and denial of ecclesiastical authority in all matters of belief were eventually adopted in Protestant countries, and during the 19th and 20th centuries Roman Catholic countries have also adopted the principle of religious toleration.

For centuries, civil and religious leaders tried to stamp out heresy. Many heretics were imprisoned, exiled, tortured, or executed. Today, heresy is no longer punished.

236- Herm

The word Herm (in Greek HERMA) defines a sacred object of stone connected with the Greek cult of Hermes, the fertility god. Hermes' name may be derived from the word herma (meaning "stone," or "rock"). When gods started to be represented as having human form, these objects were replaced by statues or by pillars to suggest the human figure. These were usually surmounted by the head of Hermes and had a phallus. They were used as cult objects and as milestones or boundary marks. Herms also occur in Roman sculpture and may have heads of the forest god Silvanus or the chief god, Jupiter Terminus.

237- Hermetica

The word Hermetica describes works of revelation on occult, theological, and -philosophical subjects ascribed to the Egyptian god Thoth (Greek Hermes Trismegistos or Hermes the Thrice-Greatest), who was believed to be the inventor of writing and the patron of all the arts dependent on writing. The collection, written in Greek and Latin, probably dates from the middle of the 1st to the end of the 3rd century AD. It was written in the form of Platonic dialogues and falls into two main classes:

"Popular" Hermetism, which deals with astrology and the other occult sciences.

"Learned" Hermetism, which is concerned with theology and philosophy.

Recent study has shown that "popular" hermetism development preceded that of learned Hermetism and that it reflects ideas and beliefs that were widely held in the early Roman Empire. In the Hellenistic age there was a growing distrust of traditional Greek rationalism and a breaking down of the distinction between science and religion.

238- Hermetism (See also Hermetica)

In the Hellenistic age there was a growing distrust of traditional Greek rationalism and the separation of science and religion tended to disappear. Hermes-Thoth was one of the gods and prophets to whom men turned for a divinely revealed wisdom. In this period the works ascribed to Hermes Trismegistos were primarily on astrology; to these were later added treatises on medicine, alchemy (Tabula Smaragdina ["Emerald Tablet), and magic. But as the assumed affinities did not exist and could not be discovered by ordinary scientific methods, recourse had to be made to divine revelation. The aim of Hermetism, like that of Gnosticism, was the deification or rebirth of man through the knowledge (gnosis) of the one transcendent God, the world, and men. The theological writings are represented chiefly by the 17 treatises of the Corpus Hermeticum, by extensive fragments in the writings of Stobaeus, and by a Latin translation of the Asclepius, preserved among the works of Apuleius. Though the setting of these is Egyptian, the philosophy is Greek. The Hermetic writings, in fact, present a fusion of Eastern religious elements with Platonic, Stoic, and Neo-Pythagorean philosophies. It is unlikely, however, that there was any well-defined Hermetic community, or "church." The Arabs extensively cultivated Hermetism, and through them it reached and influenced the West.

239- Heterodoxy

This word describes an unorthodox opinion, that is an opinion that does not conform to accepted or orthodox standards or beliefs.

240- Hierophant

In Greek HIEROPHANTES means "displayer or revealer of holy things". In ancient Greece the Hierophant was the chief of the Eleusinian cult. His principal job was to chant demonstrations of sacred symbols during the celebration of the mysteries. At the opening of the ceremonies, he proclaimed that all unclean persons must stay away, a rule that he had the right to enforce. Usually an old, celibate man with a forceful voice, he was selected from the Eumolpids, one of the original clans of the ancient Greek city of Eleusis, to serve for life. Upon taking office he symbolically cast his former name into the sea and was thereafter called only hierophantes.

241- Hittites

The Hittites were an ancient Indo-European people who appeared in Anatolia at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC; by 1340 BC they had become one of the dominant powers of the Middle East. Probably originating from the area beyond the Black Sea, the Hittites first occupied central Anatolia, making their capital at Hattusa (modern Bogazköy). Hittite cuneiform tablets discovered at Bogazköy (in modern Turkey) have yielded important information about their political organization, social structure, economy, and religion. The Hittite king was not only the chief ruler, military leader, and supreme judge but also the earthly deputy of the storm god; upon dying, he himself became a god. Hittite society was essentially feudal and agrarian, the common people being either freemen, "artisans," or slaves. In the empire period the Hittites developed iron-working technology, helping to initiate the Iron Age. The religion of the Hittites is only incompletely known, though it can be characterized as a tolerant polytheism that included not only indigenous Anatolian deities but also Syrian and Hurrian divinities.

242-Holy light

The symbol "Holy light" refers to the reality of the sacred or holy that is somewhat and somehow present. When the symbol is an indicator of the sacred or holy, a certain distance exists between them, and there is no claim that the two are identical. Short of actual identification, various degrees of intensity exist between the symbol and the spiritual reality of the sacred or holy. The symbol is a transparency, a signal, and a sign leading to the sacred or holy.

243- Holy One of Israel

This is a title of God in the Old Testament.

244- Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, in Christian belief, is the third person of the Trinity, the other persons being God the Father and God the Son. A theology of the Holy Spirit developed slowly, largely in response to controversies over the relation of Jesus Christ to God the Father. Together with the Father and the Son he is adored and glorified.

The Holy Spirit is frequently presented in Scripture through symbols: the dove symbolizing peace and reconciliation; a whirlwind symbolizing strength; and as tongues of fire symbolizing the ecstasy of believers. The Holy Spirit is considered the sanctifier, who leads and guides the church and its members.

245- Homoeans

During the Trinitarian controversies of the 4th-century Christian Church, a follower of Acacius, bishop of Caesarea founded the Homoean, a mediating party of Arianisers. The Homoeans taught a form of Aryanism that asserted that the Son was distinct from, but like the Father, as opposed to the Nicene Creed, which stated that the Son is "of one substance" (Greek homoousios) with the Father. This doctrine was favoured by Emperor Constantius II (351-361), which tried to solve the "homoousion" controversy by omitting reference to "ousia". The macrostich creed was adopted at the Synod of Antioch in 344, by the Western Church at Rimini (October 359) and for the Eastern Church at Seleucia (winter 359). Accepted for a time by the bishops of the entire Christian Church, the doctrine of the Homoeans was abandoned after Constantius' death in 361. It was revived in the East during the reign of Emperor Valens (364-378) but was finally condemned, with all Arian views, at the first Council of Constantinople in 381.

246- Homoousian, Homoousios

In Christianity, homoousian means an adherent of the doctrine adopted at the Council of Nicaea (325) that affirms that God the Son, and God the Father are of the same substance. The council had been organized to condemn Arianism, which taught that Christ was more than human but not truly divine. The use of homoousios (Greek: "of one substance," or "of one essence") in the Nicene Creed hoped to end the controversy, but Arianism revived within the church. It was only in 381 at the second ecumenical council (first Council of Constantinople) that the creed (also containing the word homoousios) was imposed as part of the orthodox doctrine.

247- Hosanna

Hosanna is an acclamation used by the people on Palm Sunday in greeting Jesus on His last entry in Jerusalem and, later, by the children in the Temple.

248- Hylics

Valentinian myths describe how the pleroma (spiritual realm) that existed in the beginning was disrupted by a Fall. The Creator God of Genesis, aborted from the primordial world, became a Demiurge and created the material universe. He deliberately created two kinds of human being and animated them with his breath: the hylics and the psychics.

249- Hylozoism

Hylozoism comes from the Greek words hyle, "matter" and zoe, "life". It describes any philosophy that views all matter as alive, either in itself or by participation in the operation of a world soul. Early Greek thinkers sought the beginning of all things in various material substances that were regarded as in some sense living, or even divine. Modified forms of early hylozoism reappeared in medieval and Renaissance thought. Aristotle was the first to distinguish between matter (hypokeimenon or hyle) and form (eidos or morphe). He argued that every sensible object consists of both matter and form, neither of which can exist without the other. To Aristotle matter was the undifferentiated primal element; it is that from which things develop rather than a thing in itself.

250- Hypostasis

The process of emanation is implicit in the concept of a Syzygy. The interrelated opposites, which form the poles of a Syzygy, are called "Ousia" and "hypostasis" and they can be understood as "Subject" and "Object". Other uses of the word exist as in philosophy where it means the underlying, essential nature of a thing while in Christian theology it can describes:

- The unique nature of the one God.

- Any of the three persons of the Trinity, each person having the divine nature fully and equally.

- The union of the wholly divine nature and of a wholly human nature in the one person of Jesus Christ (in full hypostatic union).

The Greek concepts of ousia (nature or essence) and hypostasis (entity, equivalent to person) -in Latin these terms became substantia and persona- have been the object of debates in the Roman Christian Church. Christ was said to have two natures, one of which was of the same nature (homoousios) as the Father, whereas the other was of the same nature as humanity; and the Trinity was said to consist of one ousia in three hypostases. The Platonic origin of this conceptuality is clear in the explanation of the Cappadocian Fathers that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share the same divine ousia in the way Peter, James, and John shared the same humanity.

251- Hypsistarians

The Hypsistarians were members of a 4th century Cappadocian sect that worshipped the "Most High God", a mixture of Hellenistic and Jewish religions. They observed the Sabbath and the dietary laws, they abhorred sacrifices and images, and they adored light and fire, and rejected circumcision.

252- Icon

Icon, in Eastern Christian tradition, means a representation of sacred personages or events in mural painting, mosaic, or wood. After the iconoclastic controversy of the 8th-9th century, the Eastern Church formulated the doctrinal basis for their veneration. As God had assumed material form in the person of Jesus Christ, he also could be represented in pictures. Icons are considered an essential part of the church and are given special liturgical veneration. In the classical Byzantine and Orthodox tradition, iconography is not a realistic but a symbolical art; its function is to express in artistic forms the theological teaching of the church.

253- Idolatry

Idolatry describes the worship of a material image representing a superhuman personality. The concept of idolatry originated in the confrontation between the three great monotheistic religions and the polytheistic religions. The concept originated during the clash of ancient Hebrew monotheism with the pagan cults of surrounding peoples.

In Exodus 20:3-5, Yahweh forbids not only the worship of foreign gods but also the making of images that claim to represent him. A larger problem was the persistent tendency of the Israelites to revert to the religious practices of surrounding peoples. A succession of Hebrew prophets denounced idolatry.

In Christianity, the issue of idolatry arose in the context of Greco-Roman society, in which temples, altars, and images were ubiquitous. In the New Testament, idol worship is sometimes equated with demon worship. The early Christian apologists also emphasized that images are made of inert matter and that the human form is inappropriate for representing divinity.

254- Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception is a Roman Catholic dogma asserting that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was free of the sin of Adam (the "original sin") from the first instant of her conception. The doctrine arose from a general acceptance in the early church of Mary's holiness. After Mary had been declared to be the mother of God at the Council of Ephesus in 431, most theologians doubted that one who had been so close to God could have experienced sinful acts. That Mary had been spared from the disposition to evil inherent in original sin was not clearly articulated until the 12th century. Mary's privilege was the result of God's grace, and not of any intrinsic merit on her part. On December 8, 1854 Pope Pius IX solemnly declared in the bull "Ineffabilis Deus" that the doctrine was revealed by God and, as a result, was to be believed by all Catholics.

255- Immanence

The poetic sense of the divine within and around mankind, which is widely expressed in religious life, is frequently treated in literature. Expressions of the divine as intimate rather than as alien, as indwelling and near dwelling rather than remote, characterize pantheism and panentheism as contrasted with Classical Theism. Such immanence encourages man's sense of individual participation in the divine life without the necessity of mediation by any institution. In addition, some theorists have seen unseemliness about a point of view that allows the divine to be easily confronted and appropriated. Recognizing, however, that if the separation between God and the world becomes too extreme, man risks the loss of communication with the divine, panentheism -unlike pantheism, which holds to the divine immanence- maintains that the divine can be both transcendent and immanent at the same time.

256- Immanuel

Immanuel or Emmanuel (Hebrew, "God with us") is a name that occurs in the Bible in Isaiah 7:14 and 8:8. It is applied by the prophet Isaiah to a future child who would deliver Judah from danger. Exactly when the child symbolizing the protection of Yahweh was to be born, however, is uncertain. The Christian interpretation is that this prophecy was related to Jesus birth from a virgin mother, Mary.

257- Immortality

Immortality describes endless existence of the soul after physical death. The doctrine of immortality is common to many religions and cultures. It takes various forms, from ultimate extinction of the soul to its final survival, and the resurrection of the body. Early Greek religion promised a quasi continuation of life on earth in an underground region known as Hades. In Christianity and Islam, as well as in Judaism, the immortality promised is primarily of the spirit. The former two religions differ from Judaism in teaching that after the resurrection of the body, and a general judgment of the human race, the body is to be reunited with the spirit to experience either reward or punishment. In Jewish eschatology, the resurrection of the soul will take place at the advent of the Messiah, although the reunion of body and spirit will endure only for the messianic age, when the spirit will return to heaven.

258- Incarnation

In religion, incarnation means the assumption of an earthly form by a god. In early times, priests and kings were often considered divine incarnations. In the ancient Roman and Greek religions, the gods sometimes assumed human form and married mortals. The idea of incarnation is also known in many living religions of the world. In Mahayana Buddhism, Buddha has been adored and worshiped as a divine being who came to earth as a teacher out of compassion for suffering humanity. In Jainism, Vardhamana Jnatiputra or Nataputta Mahavira, called Jina, the founder of the religion, was regarded by his followers as a supernatural being who descended from heaven. After he was incarnated, he grew up sinless and omniscient. In Zoroastrianism, many texts have developed the theme of Zoroaster's celestial pre-existence and incarnation

In Christianity, the incarnation, or union of the divine nature with human nature in the person of Jesus Christ, is a central doctrine. Sharing completely in divinity and in humanity (except for sin), Jesus Christ is believed to be the embodiment of God in human form.

259- Ineffable

Too extreme or too great to be expressed or described in words. Also, a word not to be spoken: the ineffable Hebrew name that the gentiles write as Jehovah.

260- Initiation

The most used of rites of initiation are those observed at coming-of-age, also called puberty rites. In the past, ordeals or other tests of manhood and womanhood were common. Circumcision or other genital operations are also a fairly common feature of rites celebrating the attainment of maturity. Although most commonly applying to males, genital operations are performed on females in a few societies. Where circumcision is the practice for male initiates, the uncircumcised male is not a full-fledged adult. An outstanding feature of rites at coming-of-age was their emphasis upon instruction in behaviour appropriate to the status of adults. Instruction in dress, speech, deportment, and morality are often given as well as religious instruction that have until then been kept secret. Initiates may at this time be expected or required to commune with the supernatural, sometimes by means of trances induced by fasting, violent physical exertion, or the consumption of plant substances that produce hallucinations or alter the sensibilities. Separation of male initiates from their mothers and all other females is also common.

In the advanced societies of the modern world, initiation rites have become increasingly secular. For most people, the rites are not observed or are simply vestiges of the old religious ceremonies. The most common remaining rites of initiation are those to celebrate entry into a common-interest association. The supernaturalism traditionally present in the rites is no longer acceptable to most people. The social and psychological value of rites of coming-of-age in making the transition to adulthood appears to be substantial, but modern people do not accept to participate in these rites.

261- Inner Mysteries

Mysteries, in religion, are secret ceremonies. There are generally two levels of knowledge in most Mysteries. The first level, also known as "Outer Mysteries" can be revealed to most people. The higher level, known as "Inner Mysteries" is given and can be witnessed or participated in only by people who belong to, or are about to join, the group that practices them. A person joins a group that practices mysteries by undergoing a process of initiation. This process ordinarily includes indoctrination, moral testing, and a rite of purification. Those who are initiated promise never to reveal the group's secrets, ceremonies and doctrines. Mysteries have been part of many religions. The secrets of early mysteries were so well kept that our knowledge of them is incomplete.

Mysteries also became part of religious worship in early Christianity. Christians received the Eucharist in secret rituals but after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the early 300's, the sacraments became more public. Today some people believe that the knowledge given to the ordinary members of Christian Churches -above all the doctrine contained in the Bible- can be described as "Outer Mysteries or Outer Knowledge". On the other hand the top level of the Church hierarchy are assumed to received further knowledge described as "Inner Mysteries Inner Knowledge". This is supposed to include explanations of what is hidden behind the parables and sayings of Jesus Christ.

262- Inquisition

The term inquisition refers to a judicial institution created by the papacy in the Middle Ages, charged with inquiring, trying, and sentencing persons guilty of heresy. In the early church the usual penalty for heresy was excommunication. During the 12th century harsher punishment seemed necessary, in reaction to a renewal of heresy, especially the Albigensianism.

Pope Gregory IX created the Inquisition in 1231 and entrusted the responsibility for orthodoxy to Franciscan, or even more often Dominican Inquisitors. Two inquisitors with equal authority were in charge of each tribunal, aided by assistants, notaries, police, and counsellors. Because they could excommunicate even princes, the inquisitors were formidable figures. From their tribunal, established in central towns, the Inquisitors issued orders demanding that all guilty of heresy present themselves; they could also bring suit against any suspect person. Lesser penalties were imposed on those who came forward and confessed their heresy than on those who had to be tried and convicted. If the inquisitors decided to try a person suspected of heresy, the suspect's pastor delivered the summons. Inquisitorial police located those who refused to obey a summons. The accused were given a statement of charges against them. The inquisitors usually had a kind of jury, composed of both clergy and laity, to assist them in arriving at a verdict. They were permitted to imprison suspects who were thought to be lying. In 1252 Pope Innocent IV authorised the use of torture to extract the truth from suspects. The penances and sentences for those who confessed or were found guilty were pronounced in a public ceremony at the end of all the processes. Penances might consist of a pilgrimage, a public scourging, a fine, or the wearing of a cross. The penalties in serious cases were confiscation of property or imprisonment. The most severe penalty the inquisitors could themselves impose was life imprisonment. Thus, when the inquisitors handed a guilty person over to civil authorities, it was a demand for that person's execution.

263- Intelligence

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to the environment, either by making a change in oneself or by changing the environment or finding a new one. Scholars have emphasized different aspects of intelligence in their definitions:

- The ability to think abstractly.

- Learning and the ability to give good responses to questions.

For most scholars, the importance of adaptation to the environment is the key to understanding both what intelligence is and what it does. Effective adaptation draws upon a number of cognitive processes, such as perception, learning, memory, reasoning, and problem solving. The main trend in defining intelligence, then, is that it is not itself a cognitive or mental process, but rather a selective combination of these processes purposively directed toward effective adaptation to the environment.

264- Islam

Islam is the major world religion belonging to the Semitic family; the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia promulgated it in the 7th century AD. The Arabic term Islam, literally "surrender," shows the fundamental religious idea of Islam: that the believer (called a Muslim) accepts "surrender to the will of Allah (Arabic: God)." Allah is viewed as the sole God-creator, sustainer, and restorer of the world. The will of Allah, to which man must submit, is made known through the sacred scriptures, the Qur'an (Koran), which Allah revealed to his messenger, Muhammad. In Islam, Muhammad is considered the last of a series of prophets (including Adam, Noah, Jesus, and others), and his message abrogates the "revelations" attributed to earlier prophets. Islam is monotheism and imposes a strict adherence to certain essential religious practices. All Muslims are bound by a common faith and a sense of belonging to a single community.

265- Israel, Israelite

The word Israel describes two political units in the Old Testament: the united kingdom of Israel under the kings Saul, David, and Solomon that lasted from about 1020 to 922 BC; or the northern kingdom of Israel, including the territories of the 10 northern tribes (i.e., all except Judah and part of Benjamin), that was established in 922 BC as the result of a revolt led by Jeroboam I. An Israelite is a Jew, or a descendant of the Jewish patriarch Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. In early Jewish history, Israelites were simply members of the 12 tribes of Israel. After 930 BC and the establishment of two independent Jewish kingdoms in Palestine, the ten northern tribes constituting the Kingdom of Israel were known as Israelites to distinguish them from Jews in the southern Kingdom of Judah. The Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom in 721 BC, and other peoples eventually absorbed its population. Thereafter, the name Israelite referred to those who were still distinctively Jewish, namely, descendants of the Kingdom of Judah. In liturgical usage, an Israelite is a Jew who is neither a Cohen (descendant of Aaron, the first high priest) nor a Levite (descendant of early religious functionaries). If a Cohen is present for synagogue service, he must be called up first for the reading of the Law; a Levite then follows him. An Israelite is not called up until the third reading.

266- Ituraea

Ituraea was a region part of the princedom of Philip, the son of Herod the Great.

267- Jachin and Boaz

Jachin and Boaz were the names of two pillars of Solomon's Temple. Hiram of Tyre, a copper-worker from Tyre brought to Jerusalem by King Solomon, built them. The Freemasons use them in a symbolic way.

268- Jacobites

The Jacobites were members of a monophysite sect in Syria. After the Council of Chalcedon of 451 declared the monophysites heretical, the power at Antioch was held alternatively by the Monophysite and the Eastern Orthodox until Justinian I imprisoned all the known Monophysites although his wife, Theodora, was supporting them. She organised the consecration of two monophysite monks in 543 and one of them, Jacob Baradai, founded the Syrian monophysites. They took their name from him.

269- Jericho

Jericho, a city in the Jordan Valley, was the first city conquered by the Israelites after their crossing of the Jordan.

270- Jews

Today the word Jews is synonymous with Hebrews and Israelites. Historically and ethnically, however, the words have different meanings.

The word Hebrew has no ethnic connotation and has been applied to any of numerous Semitic, nomadic tribes dwelling in the eastern Mediterranean area before 1300 BC. In Jewish history, the term is applied to those tribes that accepted Yahweh as their deity.

The term Israelite describes a particular ethnic and national group, descended from the Hebrews and united culturally by their religion.

The term Jew refers to a third group, the cultural descendants of the first two, from the time of their return from the Babylonian Captivity to the present. The word itself derives from the Hebrew yehudhi, meaning a member of the Hebrew tribe of Judah, the ancient territory of which was organized as the Roman province of Judaea in AD 6. The English word Jew is derived directly from the Latin Judaeus, meaning an inhabitant of Judea.

271- Judaea

Judaea is also spelled Judea, or Judah, and in Hebrew Yehudah. It is the southernmost of the three traditional divisions of ancient Palestine; the other two were Galilee in the north and Samaria in the centre. No clearly marked boundary divided Judaea from Samaria; it extended south from the region of Bethel (at present-day Ram Allah) to Beersheba and including the area of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron. Before the Israelite conquest of Palestine, the Canaanites dominated the region.

272- Judaeo-Christians

The term describes Christians of Jewish origin, headed after Jesus' death by his brother, James the Just, and the Apostle Peter.

273- Judah, Kingdom of

The southern of the two states into which Palestine was divided after the death of Solomon.

274- Judaism

Judaism is the religion of the Jews. It is the complex expression of a religious and ethnic community, a way of life as well as a set of basic beliefs and values, which is discerned in patterns of action, social order, and culture as well as in religious statements and concepts.

275- Habbalah

See Cabala.

276- Kedar

Kedar is the name of nomadic people living to the east of Palestine, a division of the Ishmaelites.

277- Kenites

The Kenites were a nomadic people connected with the Amalekites, the friends of Israel, absorbed later on in Judah.

278- Kenoma

Kenoma is a Christian concept meaning the manifest psycho-physical cosmos of appearance.

279- Kingdom of God

According to the New Testament, the central message of Jesus was the kingdom of God. He called for repentance in preparation for the kingdom that was "at hand." The kingdom of God referred to the reign or rule of God, and in Jesus' ministry that reign of God was announced as present. The presence of the kingdom, however, was not full and complete, and, therefore, was often referred to as a future event.

280- Kittim

Kittim is the Greek name of the island of Cyprus.

281- Ksatriyas

Ksatriyas refers to the second of four classes in Vedic society. The religious and political power was shared between the Brahmins and the Ksatriyas, the later providing the warriors, nobles and rulers but the Brahims had more prestige.

282- Kyrios

Kyrios is the Greek word for "Lord".

283- Last Supper

The Last Supper, also called Lord's Supper, is described in the New Testament; it is the final meal shared by Jesus and his disciples in Jerusalem and the time of the institution of the Eucharist. According to the bible, Jesus sent two of his disciples to prepare for the meal and met with all the disciples in the upper room. He told them that one of them would betray him. After blessing bread and wine and giving it to them to eat and drink, Jesus told them that it was his body and his blood. The Synoptic Gospels and the traditions of the church affirm that the Last Supper occurred on the Passover although the account of the Crucifixion in the Gospel According to John indicates that it was not then. In early Christian art the presence of a fish on the table symbolizes the institution of the Eucharist. This symbol was used in the West until the 15th century, when a chalice and wafer were substituted for it.

284- Legend

Legends are traditional folk narratives or collection of related narratives, popularly regarded as historically factual but actually a mixture of fact and fiction. The Medieval Latin word legenda means "things for reading." In some ways, legends resemble myths. But myths typically relate events from a remote time long ago and deal with such religious subjects as gods and goddesses and the origin of the universe. Legends are set in the present or in the historical past. Although legends may have religious implications, most are not religious in nature. Legends distort the truth, but they are based on real people or events. Every society produces legends.

A legend is set in a specific place at a specific time; the subject is often a heroic historical personage. A legend differs from a myth by portraying a human hero rather than one who is a god. Legends, originally oral, have been developed into literary masterpieces. Among the most famous legends of all time are the classic epics the Iliad and the Odyssey of ancient Greece and the Aeneid of ancient Rome. From the Middle Ages come legends about Arthur, king of the Britons; Charlemagne; and the German alchemist Faust.

In modern times legends have grown up around such presidents of the United States as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

285- Leviathan

Leviathan, in Jewish mythology, is a primordial sea serpent. Its source is in Mesopotamian myth, especially that of the sea monster in the myth of Baal. In the Old Testament, Leviathan appears (Psalms 74:14) as a sea serpent with many heads that is killed by God and given as food to the Hebrews in the wilderness. In Isaiah 27:1, Leviathan is a serpent and a symbol of Israel's enemies, who will be slain by God. In Job 41, it is a sea monster and a symbol of God's power of creation.

286- Levites

The Levites, in the Old Testament, were the members of the tribe or family of Levi, son of Jacob, who acted as priests in the ancient kingdom of Judah. Until its collapse in 586 BC the terms priest and Levite meant the same thing. The Levites later assumed a secondary role, as the priesthood became the prerogative of the descendants of Aaron, himself a descendant of Levi.

287- Libertinism

Some Gnostics held that because their souls were completely alien to this world, it did not matter what they did in it. Gnostics generally rejected the moral commandments of the Old Testament, regarding them as part of the evil god's effort to entrap humanity.

288- Literalism, Literalist

Literalism is a concept and a noun that means keeping to the literal meaning in translation or interpretation. In religious literature it is used to describe the "Orthodox Church" and the members of the Church who strictly follow their orthodox doctrine.

In the Christian Churches literature, especially in the Roman Catholic's, the word "Literalist" is used to describe the Orthodox Christians instead of the word "Orthodox" to avoid any confusion with the Eastern Orthodox Church.

289- Liturgy

Liturgy is a term that refers to acts of worship that are performed by the members of a religious group. A liturgy is also called a rite or a ritual. Most religions have their own liturgy. But within a religion, various churches and denominations may develop their own kinds of liturgy. A liturgy may combine words, music, and gestures. It also may include religious objects, such as altars and special clothing; and symbolic acts, such as pouring or sprinkling water as part of the ceremony of baptism. Some liturgical services are held at certain times of the day, week, or year. They may take place on a fast day, festival, or Sabbath.

The principal liturgical service in Christianity is called the Eucharist, Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper, or the Mass. The Eastern churches call the Eucharist the Divine Liturgy. The most important events of the Christian liturgical year are Christmas and Easter. The main annual services in the Jewish liturgy are Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur.

Christianity has many forms of liturgy. During the first three centuries of the Christian era, the rite of the church was comparatively fluid, based on various accounts of the Last Supper. In about the 4th century the various traditions crystallised into four liturgies, the Antiochene, or Greek, the Alexandrian, the Roman, and the Gallican, from which all others have been derived. The most widespread ones are the Byzantine rite and the Latin, or Roman rite. The Byzantine rite is used by the Greek Orthodox Church and several other Eastern churches. The Roman Catholic Church uses the Latin rite.

290- Logos

Logos in Greek means "word," "reason," or "plan". In Greek philosophy and theology it describes the divine reason implicit in the cosmos. Though the concept of logos is found in Greek, Indian, Egyptian, and Persian philosophical and theological systems, it became particularly significant in Christian writings and doctrines to describe the role of Jesus Christ as the principle of God active in the creation and the continuous structuring of the cosmos and in revealing the divine plan of salvation to man. It underlies the basic Christian doctrine of the pre-existence of Jesus. In the first chapter of The Gospel According to John, Jesus Christ is identified as "the Word" (Greek logos) incarnated, or made flesh. The Evangelist interprets the logos as inseparable from the person of Jesus and does not simply imply that the logos is the revelation that Jesus proclaims.

291- Maccabees

Maccabees is the name of a Jewish priestly family better known as Hasmonaeans who led the revolt against Syria under Antiochus IV to become the leaders of the new State. They re-consecrated the defiled Temple of Jerusalem. The name Maccabee was a title of honour given to Judas, a son of Mattathias and the hero of the Jewish wars of independence in 168-164 BC. Later, the name the Maccabees was extended to include his whole family.

292- Macedonianism

Macedonianism was also called Pneumatomachian heresy. It was a 4th-century Christian heresy that denied the full personality and divinity of the Holy Spirit. According to this heresy, the Holy Spirit was created by the Son and was thus subordinate to the Father and the Son. Those who accepted the heresy were called Macedonians but were also and more descriptively known as pneumatomachians, the "spirit fighters. "Some sources attribute leadership of the group to Macedonius, a semi-Arian who was twice bishop of Constantinople, but the writings of the Macedonians have all been lost, and their doctrine is known mainly from polemical refutations by Orthodox writers, particularly St. Athanasius of Alexandria and St. Basil of Caesarea. The second ecumenical Council of Constantinople (AD 381) formally condemned the Macedonians and expanded the creed of Nicaea to affirm the Orthodox belief in the third person of the Trinity, "who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified." The emperor Theodosius I suppressed the Macedonian heresy.

293- Madauran Martyrs

The Madauran martyrs were probably the first Christian martyrs in the Roman province of Africa. It is believed that Namphamo, Miggin, Lucitas and Samae were executed on July 4, 180 AD.

294- Magi

The Magi were the hereditary members of a priestly class from Media, a kingdom of ancient Persia located in what is now northern Iran. They are thought to have been followers of Zoroaster, the Persian teacher and prophet. A single member of the class was called Magus. The Magi were known for practising magic, interpreting omens and dreams, and offering astrological sacrifices. Gradually, the religion of the magi incorporated Babylonian elements, including astrology, demonology, and magic. By the 1st century AD, the magi were identified with wise men and soothsayers. Thus, the biblical magi who came from the East to worship the infant Jesus were regarded as wise men.

The Bible describes how the Three Wise Men, or Magi, followed a star to Bethlehem and presented gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the baby Jesus. Later tradition gave the three men the names of Melchior, Balthasar, and Gaspar.

295- Magic

Magic (sorcery) is the art of attaining objectives, acquiring knowledge, or performing works of wonder through supernatural or non-rational means. Techniques used in magic include chants and spells, gestures or actions, and the use of substances with the powers needed to accomplish the intended purpose.

Anthropologists distinguish three types of magical practice:

- Homeopathic magic, or the use of small portions of a thing to represent and affect the whole.

- Sympathetic magic, in which a symbolic action (for example, sticking pins into a doll) affects an object with which the symbol is in "sympathy" or harmony.

- Contagious magic, the influencing of one thing through contact with another that is believed to be magically charged.

The theoretical foundation for most magical practices is a belief in correspondences among entities within the universe -especially between human beings and the external world. Accordingly, the application of the right colours, objects, sounds, or gestures in a given context can bring about the desired result.

Magic is widely practiced in primal and traditional societies. Magic often merges with religion. Religion, however, is usually regarded as the public acknowledgment of spirituality, while magic tends to be private and oriented toward power and gain by supernatural means rather than toward worship. A distinction can also be drawn between white and black magic: White magic is employed for benign ends, and black magic - as witchcraft or sorcery- is used to harm others although many people who practice witchcraft do not seek to cause harm.

Magic in the supernatural sense is different from stage magic, in which apparent magical effects are produced for entertainment through such means as sleight of hand. A distinction is also made between magic and divination (the art of foretelling the future course of events): magic attempts to affect the future, not merely to predict it. By this definition, occult practices such as astrology, card reading, and palmistry are not magical, whereas concocting love potions and casting spells are magical practices, as is the art of invoking spirits by means of chants and gestures.

296- Malachi

The Book of Malachi is the last book of the Twelve Minor Prophets; it was written by an anonymous writer called Malachi, or "my messenger" perhaps about 500-450 BC. The book deals with spiritual degradation, religious perversions, social injustices, and unfaithfulness to the Covenant. Priests are condemned for failing to instruct the people on their Covenant responsibilities, idolatry is attacked, and men are castigated for deliberately forgetting their marriage vows when their wives become older. In chapter 3, the message is that Yahweh will send a messenger to announce and prepare for the Day of Judgment. If the people turn from their evil ways, God will bless them, and those who "feared the Lord" will be spared.

297- Mandaeans

The Mandaeans (Aramaic manda, "knowledge" or Gnostic) were a Gnostic sect also known as Sabians ("Baptists"). The Mandaean sect was initially thought to have emerged in Mesopotamia or Persia sometime before the 4th century AD. It is now generally believed that they migrated there from the Palestinian-Syrian region, where it probably originated in the 1st or 2nd century AD or even in pre-Christian times. Mandaean rituals and texts reflect Persian, Judaic, and Christian influences.

The teachings of the Mandaeans are derived from the ancient esoteric doctrine of Gnosticism. Mandaeans believe that the human soul, imprisoned in the body and the material universe, can be saved through revealed knowledge, a rigorously ethical life, and ritual observances. They also believe in the mediation of a redeemer, called Manda da Hayye ("Knowledge of Life") or Hibel-Ziwa who once dwelled on earth, where he triumphed over the demons who are its rulers and who try to keep the soul imprisoned. He can thus assist the soul in its ascent through the heavenly spheres toward its final reunion with the Supreme God. The Mandaeans may have originally derived the idea of a redeemer from the Christian conception of Jesus Christ and may have begun, as did other Gnostic sects, as a heretical offshoot of Christianity. They have been hostile to Christianity, however, since Byzantine times and have traditionally regarded Jesus as a false Messiah. Instead, they revere John the Baptist and strongly emphasise the importance of frequent baptism, which serves as a ritual of purification. Unlike the ancient Gnostic sects, the Mandaeans have traditionally regarded marriage and procreation as important moral obligations. The Mandaean priests, called Nasoreans ("observers" of the rites), form a caste apart from the laity.

298- Manichaeism

Manichaeism is an ancient philosophical and religious system based on the teachings of a Babylonian prophet named Mani (circa 216-276). For several centuries, it presented a major challenge to Christianity. Manichaeans believed that while living on earth in a mortal body, people must lead lives of self-denial and avoid lusts of the flesh. Only through wisdom can a person hope to avoid the evils of material and sensual things. Wisdom and knowledge will come from a saviour who will reveal a plan for salvation and redemption. This saviour appears as the prophets Zoroaster, Buddha, and Jesus, and finally as Mani. Manichaeism taught several ways for self-denial, such as vegetarianism, simplicity in daily activity, and refraining from sexual intercourse.

The fundamental doctrine of Manichaeism is dualistic. The universe is divided into contending realms of good and evil: the realm of Light (spirit), ruled by God, and the realm of Darkness (matter), ruled by Satan. Originally, the two realms were entirely separate, but in a primal catastrophe the realm of Darkness invaded the realm of Light, and the two became mixed and engaged in a perpetual struggle. The human race is a result and a microcosm of this struggle. The human body is material, therefore evil; the human soul is spiritual, a fragment of the divine Light, and must be redeemed from its imprisonment in the body and the world. The path of redemption is through knowledge of the realm of Light imparted by the succession of divine messengers that includes Buddha and Jesus and ends in Mani. With this knowledge the human soul can ascend to the divine realm. The Manichaeans divided themselves into two classes according to their degree of spiritual perfection. Those who were called the elect practised strict celibacy and vegetarianism, abstained from wine, did no labour, and preached. They were assured of ascent to the realm of Light after death. The numerous auditors were those of lower spiritual attainment. They were permitted marriage (although procreation was discouraged), observed weekly fasts, and served the elects. They hoped to be reborn as the elect. Eventually all fragments of divine Light would be redeemed, the world would be destroyed, and Light and Darkness would be eternally separated.

During the century after Mani's death, Manichaeism spread as far as China in the East and gained followers throughout the Roman Empire, especially in North Africa. The 4th-century theologian St. Augustine was a Manichaean for nine years before his conversion to Christianity. He subsequently wrote against the movement, which was also condemned by several popes and Roman emperors. Although Manichaeism had disappeared in the West by the early Middle Ages, its continuing influence can be traced in the medieval dualistic heresies of the Albigenses, Bogomils, and Paulicians, and much of the Gnostic-Manichaean worldview survives in many modern religious movements and sects, including theosophy.

Mani, believing that the failure of previous prophets to record their teachings led to their dilution and distortion by disciples, wrote several books to serve as the scripture of his religion. Fragments of these, along with hymns, catechisms, and other texts, were found in Eastern Turkistan and Egypt during the early 20th century. Other sources for Manichaean doctrines include the writings of St. Augustine and other opponents.

299- Mantra

In Hinduism and Buddhism, Mantra describes a sacred utterance (syllable, word, or verse) that is considered to possess mystical or spiritual efficacy. Various mantras are either spoken aloud or merely sounded internally in one's thoughts. Most mantras are without any apparent verbal meaning, but they are thought to have a profound underlying significance and are in effect distillations of spiritual wisdom. Thus, repetition of or meditation on a particular mantra can induce a trancelike state in the participant and can lead him to a higher level of spiritual awareness. Besides bringing spiritual enlightenment, different kinds of mantras are used to work other psychic or spiritual purposes, such as protecting oneself from evil psychic powers. One of the most powerful and widely used mantras in Hinduism is the sacred syllable om. The principal mantra in Buddhism is om mani padme hum. Mantras continue to be an important feature of Hindu religious rites and domestic ceremonies. Initiation into many Hindu sects involves the whispering of a secret mantra into the ear of the initiate by the guru (spiritual teacher).

300- Manual of Discipline

The Manual of Discipline, also called Rule of The Community, is one important documents of the Jewish Essene Community that settled at Qumran in the early 2nd century BC. They did so to remove themselves from what they considered a corrupt religion symbolized by the religio-political high priests of the Hasmonean dynasty. The scroll was discovered at Qumran in 1947. Modern scholars have suggested that, when the Qumran sect was forced to abandon its community life because of the great Jewish revolt against Rome in AD 66-70, its members hid their library in nearby caves. This scroll was probably intended for the Essene sect's leaders, including priests who supervised the sacrificial, liturgical, and possibly exegetical religious functions, and also guardians who controlled the admission and instruction of new members. The document contains an explanation of the sect's religious and moral ideals, a description of its admission ceremony, a long catechetical discourse on its mystical doctrine of the primordial spirits of truth and perversity, organizational and disciplinary statutes, and a final hymn or psalm praising obedience and setting forth the sacred seasons. Although this work cannot be dated with precision, it was probably compiled after the community had settled in Qumran.

301- Maonites

The Maonites were the oppressors of the Israelites together with the Sidonians and Amalekites. They lived on Mount Seir, south of the Dead Sea.

302- Marcellites, Marcellians

A school of Christian Gnosticism founded by Marcellina, active also in Rome.

303- Marcionites

The basis of Marcionite theology was that there were two cosmic gods. A creator god created the material world that included man's body and soul. The usual Gnostic thesis states that only man's body is part of creation, the work of a demonic power, whereas, his soul is a spark from the true unknown superior God. According to Marcion the Superior God is completely ineffable and bore no intrinsic relation to the created universe. Out of sheer goodness, he had sent his son Jesus Christ to save man from the material world and bring him to a new home. Christ's sacrifice was not atonement for human sin, but an act that cancelled the claim of the creator God upon men. In contrast to the Gnostic claim of a revelatory gnosis, Marcion and his followers emphasized faith in the effect of Christ's act. They were ascetics who limited their contact with the creator's world while looking forward to salvation in the realm of the extra-worldly God. They admitted women to the priesthood and bishopric.

The Marcionite sect, ascetic and celibate, grew rapidly until it was second in strength only to the original church; it had churches and an Episcopal hierarchy and practiced the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist, the latter without the use of wine.

Marcion rejected the Old Testament and almost all of the New Testament, including the accounts of the incarnation and the resurrection, basing his teachings on ten of the Epistles of St. Paul and on an altered version of the Gospel of Luke. His tenets included a belief in a dualistic interpretation of God, whereby God is divided into the just God of Law, who was the Creator of the Old Testament, and the good God, the infinitely superior deity revealed by Jesus Christ. Marcionism flourished in the West until about the 4th century, when Manichaeism probably absorbed it; traces of it remained in the East into medieval times.

303bis - Maronite Church

The Maronite Church is one of the largest Eastern-rite communities of the Roman Catholic Church, prominent especially in modern Lebanon; it is the only Eastern-rite church that has no non-Catholic or Orthodox counterpart. The Maronites trace their origins to St. Maron, or Maro, a Syrian hermit of the late 4th and early 5th centuries, and St. John Maron, or Joannes Maro, patriarch of Antioch in 685-707 who made the Maronites a fully independent people. Though their traditions assert that the Maronites were always orthodox Christians in union with the Roman see, there is evidence that for centuries they were Monothelites, followers of the heretical doctrine of Sergius, patriarch of Constantinople, who affirmed that there was a divine but no human will in Christ. According to the medieval bishop William of Tyre, the Maronite patriarch sought union with the Latin patriarch of Antioch in 1182 but the union did not come until the 16th century. The immediate spiritual head of the Maronite church after the pope is the "patriarch of Antioch and all the East," residing in Bkirki, near Beirut. The church retains the ancient West Syrian liturgy, even though the vernacular tongue of the Maronites is Arabic.

304- Martyr

A martyr is one who voluntarily suffers death rather than to deny his religion by words or deeds; such action is accorded special recognition in most major religions of the world. The term may also refer to anyone who sacrifices his life or something of great value for the sake of principle.

305- Mary (Cult of)

The cult of Mary (also called Saint Mary, or Virgin Mary the mother of Jesus) flourished at the beginning of the Christian era. She has been the object of veneration in the Christian church since the apostolic age. The development of the doctrine of Mary can be traced through titles that have been ascribed to her in the history of the Christian communions -guarantee of the incarnation, virgin mother, second Eve, mother of God, ever virgin, immaculate, and assumed into heaven. Her humility and obedience to the message of God have made her an exemplar for all ages of Christians.

306- Masoretes

The word "masoretes" (from Hebrew masoreth, "tradition") describes the scholars of the Talmudic academies in Babylonia and Palestine who, from the sixth century AD to the tenth, wrote the official Hebrew version of the Jewish Bible. This was precisely assembled and codified, and supplied with diacritical marks to enable correct pronunciation, in an effort to reproduce, as far as possible, the original text of the Hebrew Old Testament. Their intention was not to interpret the meaning of the Scriptures but to transmit to future generations the authentic Word of God. For this they gathered manuscripts and whatever oral traditions were available to them. The Masoretic text that resulted from their work shows that every word and every letter was checked with care. In Hebrew or Aramaic, they called attention to strange spellings and unusual grammar and noted discrepancies in various texts. Since texts traditionally omitted vowels in writing, the Masoretes introduced vowel signs to guarantee correct pronunciation. Signs for stress and pause were added to the text to facilitate public reading of the Scriptures in the synagogue. When the final codification of each section was complete, the Masoretes not only counted and noted down the total number of verses, words, and letters in the text but also indicated which verse, which word, and which letter marked the centre of the text. In this way any future emendation could be detected. The Masoretic text is universally accepted as the authentic Hebrew Bible.

307- Matter

Matter is the material substance that constitutes the observable universe and, together with energy, forms the basis of all objective phenomena. The basic building blocks of matter are atoms. Matter may have several states, the most familiar of which are the gaseous, liquid, and solid states. According to Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity, matter (as mass) and energy are equivalent. Accordingly, matter can be converted into energy and energy into matter.

308- Medes

Medes or media were a people living in a country called Madai in Hebrew and Assyrian. The Medes were an Aryan (Iranian) people known to exist in 836 BC. They lived in the mountains South and Southeast of the Caspian Sea.

309- Meditation

Meditation is an engagement in contemplation, especially of a spiritual or devotional nature. It is a spiritual exercise much like prayer. It is especially important in Asian religions.

310- Melitian Schisms

There were two schisms known by the name Melitian in the 4th century.

- The first was in Alexandria and was similar to the Donatist schism in the west.

- The second melitian schism was named after a patriarch from Antioch. This Melitius was Bishop of Beroea. He was transferred to Antioch at the request of the Arians and the Orthodox Christians, both sides believing that he would support them.

311- Mesopotamian Religion

The Mesopotamian religion contains the beliefs and practices of the Sumerians and Akkadians, and their successors, the Babylonians and Assyrians, who inhabited ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) in the millennia before the Christian era. Mesopotamian religion was Sumerian in origin, but it was modified by the Akkadians (Semites who emigrated into Mesopotamia from the west at the end of the 4th millennium BC), whose own beliefs were assimilated and integrated with those of their new environment. In many ways it even influenced peoples and cultures outside Mesopotamia, such as the Elamites to the east, the Hurrians and Hittites to the north, and the Aramaeans and Israelites to the west.

312- Messalians

Messallian was the name given to the initiates of a Gnostic School of Christianity. Messalian (from the Syriac word for "men of prayers"), describes a 4th century ascetic movement whose members dedicated themselves to prayer. They were mendicants who slept on the street living of charity.

313- Messiah

In theology the Messiah is the Anointed One, the Christ. It was the Hebrew name for the promised deliverer of humankind, assumed by Jesus and given to him by Christians. In the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, this word is translated by the word Christos, from which "Christ" is derived. Hence the name Jesus Christ identifies Jesus as the Messiah, although Jewish religion asserts that the Messiah is yet to come.

The concept of the Messiah combines the Hebrew ideal of a Davidic king with the priestly tradition exemplified by Moses. Christians have also seen in certain passages in the Old Testament Book of Isaiah a third characteristic of the Messiah, that of the suffering servant. In Christian theology Jesus is seen as the fulfilment of all three concepts.

314- Metempsychosis

Metempsychosis means the transferring of soul from one body to another. It is also known as "transmigration of soul", "rebirth", "and reincarnation".

315- Micah

Micah was one of the four prophets of the 8th century BC.

Micah is also the name of one of the 12 prophetic books of the Old Testament known, primarily because of their brevity, as the Minor Prophets. It is attributed to the Hebrew prophet Micah, a younger contemporary of the prophet Isaiah who began to prophesy before the fall of Samaria in 721 BC.

Tradition attributes the entire work to Micah, but most scholars now agree that it is a composite work. The first three chapters (with the exception of 2:12-13, which probably were added by a much later editor) generally are believed to have come from Micah. Considerable disagreement exists, however, concerning the rest of the book.

316- Midian, midianites

Midian and Midianites are the names of a nomadic tribe or tribes, descendant from Abraham. They were related to the Kenites. They lived in North Arabia, east of the Gulf of Aquaba. They are also called Ishmaelite.

317- Milan (Edict of)

The Edict of Milan established religious tolerance for Christianity within the Roman Empire. The result of a political agreement concluded in Milan between the Roman emperors Constantine I and Licinius in February 313. The proclamation, made for the East by Licinius in June 313, granted all persons freedom to worship whatever deity they pleased, assured Christians of legal rights (including the right to organize churches), and ordoned the return to Christians of confiscated property.

318- Miletus

Miletus was an ancient Greek city of Ionia, in Asia Minor, and the most flourishing of the 12 cities of the Ionian confederacy. Miletus had four harbours and developed an extensive trade. Miletus was famous for its fine textiles, especially woollen cloth. The Milesians established many colonies in the north. They also sent merchant fleets to every part of the Mediterranean Sea and even into the Atlantic Ocean.

Miletus was repeatedly attacked by Lydia but managed to withstand all assault until Croesus, king of Lydia, finally defeated it. Following the conquest of Lydia by Cyrus the Great, Miletus fell under the sway of Persia. From 499 to 494 BC the city took part in the Ionian Revolt against Persia but was defeated and demolished by Darius the Great. Rebuilt in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, it never regained its former importance.

319- Millenium, Millennialism

Millenium, in Christian theology, is the 1,000-year period when Jesus Christ will return and establish his kingdom on Earth. Early Christians' idea of millennialism, or millenarianism, derived from Jewish eschatological expectations and implied the nearness of the triumph of Christians over the world. According to the New Testament, Satan was bound and thrown into a pit for 1,000 years. Martyrs were resurrected and reigned with Christ for the millennium. At the end of the period, Satan was loosed for a time to deceive the nations, but he was subsequently defeated. All the dead were then gathered for the final judgment. Those Christians who believe that the Second Coming of Christ will begin the 1,000-year period of righteousness in the world have been called pre-millennialists. Others, known as postmillennialists, believe that eventually Christianity will be accepted throughout the world, and a 1,000-year period of Christian righteousness will be climaxed by the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment.

320- Minaeans

The Minaeans were a south Arabian people.

321- Mind

Mind means the many faculties involved in perceiving, remembering, considering, evaluating, and deciding. Mind is reflected in such occurrences as sensations, perceptions, emotions, memory, desires, various types of reasoning, motives, choices, traits of personality, and the unconscious. Several assumptions are necessary to any discussion of the concept of mind:

- First is the assumption of thought or thinking. If there were no evidence of thought in the world, mind would have little or no meaning.

- The second assumption is that of knowledge or knowing.

- The third assumption is that of purpose or intention, of planning a course of action with foreknowledge of its goal or of working in any other way toward a desired and foreseen objective.

These assumptions -thought, knowledge or self-knowledge, and purpose- seem to be common to all theories of mind. More than that, they seem to be assumptions that require the development of the conception. The conflict of theories concerning what the human mind is, what structure it has, what parts belong to it, and what whole it belongs to does not comprise the entire range of controversy on the subject. Yet enough is common to all theories of mind to permit certain other questions to be formulated: How does the mind operate? How does it do whatever is its work, and with what intrinsic excellences or defects? What is the relation of mind to matter, to bodily organs, to material conditions, or of one mind to another? Is mind a common possession of men and animals, or is whatever might be called mind in animals distinctly different from the human mind? Are there minds or a mind in existence apart from man and the whole world of corporeal life? What are the limits of so-called artificial intelligence, the capacity of machines to perform functions generally associated with mind?

322- Miracles

A miracle is defined as an event, apparently transcending human powers and the laws of nature that is attributed to a special divine intervention or to supernatural forces.

Miracles are a feature of most religions. In some societies, a shaman is believed to have the power to heal through contact with outside forces. Many religious leaders and founders-including Zoroaster, Confucius, Lao-tzu, and Buddha-have been credited with miraculous powers. Moses and the prophets of Israel were said to have performed miraculous acts at God's bidding. Muslim tradition includes accounts of the miracles of Muhammad, such as his extraordinary healings.

In Christianity, miracles have been ascribed not only to Jesus Christ but also to many of his immediate followers and to Christian saints up to the present time. The miracles of Christ recorded in the Gospels are an integral part of the New Testament and include raising the dead, transforming water into wine, feeding thousands with a small amount of food, casting out demons, and healing the sick and deformed. The most important miracle of the New Testament is the resurrection of Christ.

More recently the Gospel miracles are widely regarded as having been written more to inculcate religious truths than to record historical events. Thus, the significance of the miracle lies in its meaning rather than in the event itself.

323- Mithraism

Mithraism was one of the major religions of the Roman Empire, the cult of Mithra, the ancient Persian god of light and wisdom. In the Avesta, the sacred Zoroastrian writings of the ancient Persians, Mithra (known also as Mithras and Mitra) appears as the chief yazata (Avestan, "beneficent one"), or good spirit, and ruler of the world. He was supposed to have slain the divine bull, from whose dying body sprang all plants and animals beneficial to humanity. After the conquest of Assyria in the 7th century BC and of Babylonia in the 6th century BC, Mithra became the god of the sun and of the Light. The Greeks of Asia Minor identified Mithra with Helios, the Greek god of the sun. Mithra was said to be an ally of the supreme god Ahura Mazda.

The Persians spread the worship of Mithra, called Mithraism, throughout Asia Minor. Mithraism was brought to Rome about 68 BC by Cilician pirates and during the early empire it spread rapidly throughout Italy and the Roman provinces. The cult became popular, especially among Roman soldiers and slaves. By about A.D. 100, they had spread it into Europe. It was a rival to Christianity in the Roman world until the 300's.

Mithraism was similar to Christianity in many respects, for example, in the ideals of humility and brotherly love, baptism, the rite of communion, the use of holy water, the adoration of the shepherds at Mithra's birth, the adoption of Sundays and of December 25 (Mithra's birthday) as holy days, and the belief in the immortality of the soul, the last judgement, and the resurrection. Mithraism differed from Christianity in the exclusion of women from its ceremonies and in its willingness to compromise with polytheism. The similarities, however, made possible the easy conversion of its followers to Christian doctrine.

324- Moab

Moab, is the ancient country on the hill plateau east of the Dead Sea, in what is now Jordan. Moab is limited to the east by the Arabian Desert, to the south by the river Zered and to the west by the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley.

The Moabites were closely related to the Hebrews and were subject to Israel during the reigns of David and Solomon (11th-10th century BC). They later regained their independence but were temporarily re-conquered by Omri, king of Israel (reigned 876-869 BC). Moab, like neighbouring Judah, became tributary to Assyria in the 8th century BC and was conquered by the Babylonians in the 6th century BC. After that the Moabites ceased to exist as a separate people.

325- Moloch, Molech

Moloch is the Old Testament deity at one period associated with Baal, probably as a sun god, but differing from him in being almost entirely malevolent. The worship of Moloch embraced human sacrifice, ordeals by fire, and self-mutilation. The Hebrew form of the word is invariably Molech, meaning "king" or "counsellor." The first recorded instance of a worshiper of Yahweh who "burned his son as an offering" to Moloch is that of Ahaz. The ritual of Moloch worship was probably borrowed by Judah from one of the surrounding nations; the Moabites and Ammonites practiced it.

Molech and Moloch are terms linked with the practice of child sacrifica that took place outside Jerusalem, in the Valley of Hinnom called the Topheth.

326- Monad

The word Monad describes an elementary individual substance that reflects the order of the world and from which material properties are derived. The Pythagoreans used it as the name of the beginning number of a series, from which all following numbers derived. Giordano Bruno in "On the Monad, Number, and Figure") described three fundamental types: God, souls, and atoms. In Leibniz's system of metaphysics, monads are basic substances that make up the universe but lack spatial extension and hence are immaterial. Each monad is a unique, indestructible, dynamic, soul-like entity. The objects of the material world are simply appearances of collections of monads.

327- Monarchianism

Monarchianism is a Christian heretical doctrine of the 2nd and 3rd centuries opposed to the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity; it strongly maintained the essential unity of the Deity and was intended to reinforce monotheism in Christianity. Monarchians were divided into two groups.

The Adoptionists, or Dynamic Monarchians, taught that Christ, although of miraculous birth, was a mere man until his baptism when the Holy Spirit made him the Son of God by adoption

The Patripassians, or Modalistic Monarchians, believed in the divinity of Christ, but regarded the Trinity as three manifestations, or modes, of a single divine being. They taught that the Father had come to earth and suffered and died under the appearance of the Son.

328- Monasticism

Monasticism is a religious movement whose members attempt to practice works that are above and beyond those required of both the laity and the spiritual leadership of their religions. Generally celibate and ascetic, the monastic individual separates himself or herself from general society either by living as a hermit or anchorite (religious recluse), or by joining the society of others who profess similar intentions. Although first applied to Christian groups the term monasticism is now used to denote similar, though not identical, practices in such religions as Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Taoism. The word monasticism is derived from the Greek monachos "living alone," but the etymology indicates only one of the elements of monasticism; a large section of the world's monastics live in cenobite (common life) communities. In the Islamic world, terms that can be translated by "monk," "monastic," and similar words do not mean "single". Monasticism within Brahman-Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina, imply living alone or in groups that are set off from the rest of their societies, analogously to Jewish, Christian, and Islamic monastics.

329- Monism

In philosophy, the Monism (Greek monos, "single") doctrine states that ultimate reality is entirely of one substance. Monism is thus opposed to both dualism and pluralism. Three basic types of monism are recognised: materialistic monism, idealistic monism, and the mind-stuff theory. According to the first doctrine, everything in the universe, including mental phenomena, is reduced to the one category of matter. In the second doctrine, matter is regarded as a form of manifestation of mind; and in the third doctrine, matter and mind are considered merely aspects of each other. Monistic philosophies date from ancient Greece but the term monism .was first used by the 18th-century German philosopher Christian von Wolff to designate types of philosophical thought in which the attempt was made to eliminate the dichotomy of body and mind.

330- Monk

Monk, a word derived from monos in Greek. A monk is a man who separates himself from society and lives either alone (a hermit or anchorite) or in an organized community under a rule and who has taken the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in order to devote himself full time to religious life. It is used more in the East while in the West it strictly only applies to the members of Benedictine orders.

331- Monophysite

Monophysite, in Christianity, is a person who believes that Jesus Christ's nature remains divine, and not human, although he has taken on a human body with its cycle of birth, life, and death. Monophysite doctrine asserted that in the Person of Jesus Christ there was only one divine nature rather than two natures, divine and human, as asserted at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. During the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries, several divergent traditions had arisen. Chalcedon declared that Christ was to be "acknowledged in two natures, without being mixed, transmuted, divided, or separated." This formulation was against the Nestorian doctrine -that the two natures in Christ had remained separate and that they were in effect two Persons- and against the position of the monk Eutyches, who had been condemned in 448 for teaching that, after the Incarnation, Christ had only one nature and that the humanity of the incarnate Christ was not of the same substance as that of other men. Political and ecclesiastical rivalries as well as theology played a role in the decision of Chalcedon to depose and excommunicate the patriarch of Alexandria, Dioscorus (d. 454). The church that supported Dioscorus was labelled Monophysite. Severus of Antioch (d. 538) was declared monophysiste although he repudiated the terminology of Chalcedon as self-contradictory. Most modern scholars agree that Severus and Dioscorus probably diverged from orthodoxy more in their emphasis upon the intimacy of the union between God and man in Christ than in any denial that the humanity of Christ and that of mankind are consubstantial.

332- Monotheism

Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one god, or in the oneness of God; polytheism is the belief in the existence of many gods and atheism is the belief that there is no god. Monotheism is the tradition of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and elements of the belief are discernible in other religions. There are no historical proofs that monotheism is a later development in the history of religions than polytheism although many scholars hold that monotheism is a higher form of religion and, therefore, must be a later development. It is not the oneness of god that counts in monotheism but his uniqueness; one god is not affirmed as the logical opposite to many gods but as an expression of divine might and power. The choice of either monotheism, or polytheism leads to problems, because neither can give a satisfactory answer to all questions. The weakness of polytheism is revealed in the questions about the ultimate origin of things, whereas monotheism runs into difficulties in trying to answer the question concerning the origin of evil in a universe under the government of one god. Because Christianity is a monotheistic religion, the monotheistic conception of the divine is seen by the Western culture as a self-evident axiom.

333- Monothelite

The Monothelites were members of a 7th-century Christian heresy that, while otherwise orthodox, maintained that Christ had only one will. The Monothelites were attempting to resolve the question of the unity of Christ's person on the basis of the doctrine of the two natures, divine and human, in the person of Christ. The Byzantine emperor Heraclius tried to win back to the church and empire the excommunicated and persecuted Monophysites who taught that Christ had only one nature. In Armenia in 622, Heraclius said to the head of the Severian Monophysites that the divine and human natures in Christ, while distinct in his one person, had but one will and one operation. Sergius, patriarch of Constantinople, was a strong proponent of the doctrine and was the emperor's adviser on it. In 638 Heraclius issued the Ekthesis ("Statement of Faith"), which formulated the position. This led to intense controversy and Heraclius' successor, Constans II, in 648, forbad all discussion of the question. As Constantine IV became emperor in 668, the controversy was revived, and he called a general council, which met at Constantinople in 680. It was preceded in the same year by a synod under Pope Agatho at Rome. According to Agatho, the will is a property of the nature, so that, as there are two natures, there are two wills. The third Council of Constantinople condemned Monothelitism and asserted two wills and two operations in the person of Christ.

334- Montanism

Montanism, also called Cataphrygian Heresy, or New Prophecy, was a heretical movement founded by the prophet Montanus in the Christian church in Phrygia, Asia Minor, in the 2nd century AD. The Montanist writings have perished, except for brief references preserved by ecclesiastical writers. The chief sources for the history of the movement are Eusebius' Historia ecclesiastica (Ecclesiastical History), the writings of Tertullian and Epiphanius, and inscriptions, particularly those in central Phrygia. The movement spread throughout Asia Minor where many towns were almost completely converted to Montanism. After the first enthusiasm had waned, the followers of Montanus were found predominantly in the rural districts. The essential principle of Montanism was that the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, whom Jesus had promised in the Gospel According to John, was manifesting himself to the world through Montanus. At first he did not either deny the doctrines of the church or attack the authority of the bishops. Montanus claimed to have the final revelation of the Holy Spirit and this implied that something could be added to the teaching of Christ and the Apostles, and that the church had to accept a fuller revelation. Montanism was expecting the imminent Second Coming of Christ and taught a legalistic moral rigor. When it was clear that it was an attack on the Catholic faith, the bishops of Asia Minor gathered in synods and excommunicated the Montanists, probably about 177. Montanism then became a separate sect with its headquarters at Pepuza. It continued in the East until Emperor Justinian I (reigned 527-565) destroyed it, but some traces survived into the 9th century. The earliest record of any knowledge of Montanism in the West dates from 177, and 25 years later there was a group of Montanists in Rome. It was in Carthage in Africa, however, that the sect became important. There, its most illustrious convert was Tertullian, who became interested in Montanism around 206 and finally left the Catholic Church in 212-213. Montanism declined in the West early in the 5th century.

335- Myrrh

Myrrh is a dried aromatic gum resin, of which the true form is obtained from a balsam tree in Africa, India and Arabia. Myrrh consists of a mixture of resin, gum, and the essential oil myrrhol, which produces the characteristic odour. It has a bitter, pungent taste, and ranges in colour from yellowish brown to reddish brown. Myrrh was highly valued in ancient times as an ingredient of perfume and incense and was also used as an ointment. One of the three gifts of the Magi to Jesus Chris was myrrh. It was used in medicine and was a valuable gift.

336- Myrtle

Myrtle is an evergreen shrub much liked in Palestine. It grows wild in the mountains especially on Mount Carmel and in Gilead but it is also cultivated.

337- Myste (plural, Mystai) and Mystagogos

In the old Mystery cults, the initiate was called mystes, the introducing person mystagogos (leader of the mystes).

338- Mysteries

Mysteries were secret rites and ceremonies connected with various religious worships of ancient Greece and Rome. These rites and ceremonies were known and practised by congregations of men and women who had been duly initiated; no other persons were allowed to participate. This process included indoctrination, moral testing, and a rite of purification. The initiates promised never to reveal the group's secret ceremonies and doctrines. Mysteries have been part of many religions but their origin and purpose are unknown. The theory that the mysteries concealed deep truths and remnants of a primitive revelation too profound for the popular mind is no longer believed. However the sacred rituals brought to the initiates secret religious doctrines concerned with the continuance of life after death. The mysteries consisted of purifications, sacrificial offerings, processions, songs, dances, and dramatic performances. Often the birth, suffering, death, and resurrection of a god were enacted in dramatic form

The earliest and most important Greek mysteries were the Orphic, the Eleusinian, and the Dionysiac. The Orphic mysteries were those of a mystic cult founded, according to tradition, by the legendary poet and musician Orpheus. Far more celebrated were the Eleusinian mysteries, connected with the worship of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis in Attica. Feasts, processions, and musical and dramatic performances accompanied the worship of Dionysus, or Bacchus, at Athens. At first only women celebrated the mysteries. When they were finally opened to men, the gatherings were suspected of gross immoralities.

In ancient Rome, members of a cult called Mithraism practised mysteries. Only men could be initiated. Other mysteries practised in Rome were connected with the worship of the goddesses Cybele and Isis. Mysteries also became part of religious worship in early Christianity. Initially Christians received the Eucharist in secret rituals but after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the early 300's, the sacraments became public.

339- Mysticism

Mysticism is the belief that God or spiritual truths can be known through individual insight, rather than by reasoning or study. All the major religions include some form of mysticism. A person who has mystical experiences is called a mystic. Most mystics find such experiences difficult to describe. Many say they are filled with light, have visions, or hear inner music or voices. Some mystics feel that their spirits fly out of their bodies or become possessed by a higher power. During these experiences, mystics may feel ecstasy or great peace. Mysticism is an immediate, direct, intuitive knowledge of God or of ultimate reality attained through personal religious experience. The mystical life is characterised by enhanced vitality, productivity, serenity, and joy as the inner and outward aspects harmonise in union with God.

Mystics differ in their practice and experiences, even within the same religion. However, most mystics share three basic goals: (1) knowledge of a spiritual reality that exists beyond the everyday world, (2) spiritual union with some higher power, and (3) freedom from selfish needs and worldly desires. To attain these goals, mystics may isolate themselves from material comforts and other people. In addition, their discipline may involve extremes of mental and physical activity. Buddhist mystics may meditate for hours or even days without moving. Jews who belong to the Hasidic group often shout and twist their bodies while praying. Some members of the Islamic Sufi sect go into a trance as they perform a whirling dance.

Non-Christian Mysticism

Elaborate philosophical theories have been developed in an attempt to explain the phenomena of mysticism. Thus, in Hindu philosophy and particularly in the metaphysical system known as the Vedanta, the self or atman in man is identified with the supreme self, or Brahman, of the universe. The apparent separateness and individuality of beings and events are held to be an illusion (Sanskrit maya), or convention of thought and feeling. This illusion can be dispelled through the realisation of the essential oneness of atman and Brahman. When the religious initiate has overcome the beginningless ignorance (Sanskrit avidya) upon which depends the apparent separability of subject and object, of self and no self, a mystical state of liberation, or moksha, is attained. The Hindu philosophy of Yoga incorporates perhaps the most complete and rigorous discipline ever designed to transcend the sense of personal identity and to clear the way for an experience of union with the divine self. In China, Taoism, as expounded by its traditional founder, the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu, has a strong mystical emphasis.

The philosophical ideas of the ancient Greeks were predominantly naturalistic and rationalistic, but an element of mysticism found expression in the Orphic and other sacred mysteries. A late Greek movement, Neoplatonism, was based on the philosophy of Plato and also shows the influence of the mystery religions. The Muslim Sufi sect embraces a form of theistic mysticism closely resembling that of the Vedanta.

Christian Mysticism

St. Paul was the first great Christian mystic. The New Testament writings best known for their deeply mystical emphasis are Paul's letters and the Gospel of John. Christian mysticism as a system, however, is derived from Neoplatonism through the writings of Dionysius the Areopagite, or Pseudo-Dionysius.

In the Middle Ages mysticism was often associated with monasticism. Some of the most celebrated mystics are found among the monks of both the Eastern church and the Western church, particularly the 14th-century Hesychasts of Mount Áthos in the former, and Saints Bernard of Clairvaux, Francis of Assisi, and John of the Cross in the latter. St. Francis, who derived his mysticism directly from the New Testament, without reference to Neoplatonism, remains a dominant figure in modern mysticism. A number of the most distinguished Christian mystics have been women, notably St. Hildegard, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Teresa of Ávila.

By its pursuit of spiritual freedom, sometimes at the expense of theological formulas and ecclesiastical discipline, mysticism may have contributed to the origin of the Reformation, although it inevitably came into conflict with Protestant, as it had with Roman Catholic, religious authorities.

Contemporary Mysticism

The 20th century has experienced a revival of interest in both Christian and non-Christian mysticism. The last half of the 20th century saw increased interest in Eastern mysticism. The mystical strain in Judaism, which received particular emphasis in the writings of the Cabalists of the Middle Ages and in the movement of the Hasidim of the 18th century, was again pointed up by the modern Austrian philosopher and scholar Martin Buber. Contemporary mystics of note are the French social philosopher Simone Weil, the French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and the American Trappist monk Thomas Merton.

340- Mythology, myths

People have always tried to understand why certain things happen. For example, they have wanted to know why the sun rises and sets, and what causes lightning. They have also wanted to know how the earth was created and how, and where, humanity first appeared. Today, people have scientific answers and theories for many such questions about the world around them. But in earlier times -and in some parts of the world today- people lacked the knowledge to provide scientific answers. They explained natural events in terms of mythical stories about gods, goddesses, and heroes.

Mythology is the study and interpretation of myths. In general myth is a narrative that describes and portrays, in symbolic language, the origin of the basic elements and assumptions of a culture. Mythic narrative relates, for example, how the world began, how humans and animals were created, and how certain customs, gestures, or forms of human activities originated. In early times, every society developed its own myths, which played an important part in the society's religious life. People usually consider their myths sacred and completely true.

We study myths to learn how a people developed a particular social system with its many customs and ways of life. By examining myths, we can better understand the feelings and values that bind members of society into one group. Most myths can be divided into two groups -creation myths and explanatory myths:

- Creation myths try to explain the origin of the world, the creation of human beings, and the birth of gods and goddesses.

- Explanatory myths try to explain natural processes or events.

Most myths concern divinities (divine beings) that have supernatural powers although many gods, goddesses, and heroes of mythology have human characteristics. They are guided by such emotions as love and jealousy, and they experience birth and death. A number of mythological figures even look like human beings. In many cases, the human qualities of the divinities reflect a society's ideals. Good gods and goddesses have the qualities a society admires, and evil ones have the qualities it dislikes.

Myths differ from fairy tales in that they refer to a time that is different from ordinary time.

In Greece myths, or mythos, have always been in tension with reason or logos. The Greek philosophers Xenophanes, Plato, and Aristotle, for example, exalted reason and made trenchant criticisms of myth as a proper way of knowing reality. In the Judeo-Christian tradition the notion of history has been opposed to myth. Complicating this opposition was the concept that the God of the Hebrews and Christians, although existing outside of ordinary time and space, was revealed to humanity within human history and society. The distinctions between reason and myth and between myth and history, although fundamental, were never quite absolute. Aristotle concluded that in some of the early Greek creation myths, logos and mythos overlapped. Plato used myths as allegory and also as literary devices in developing an argument. Mythos, logos, and history overlap in the Gospel of John in the New Testament; there, Jesus, the Christ, is portrayed as the Logos, who came from eternity into historical time.

The debate over whether myth, reason, or history best expresses the meaning of the reality of the gods, humans, and nature has continued in Western culture as a legacy from its earliest traditions. Among these traditions were the myths of the Greeks. Adopted and assimilated by the Romans, they furnished literary, philosophical, and artistic inspiration to such later periods as the Renaissance and the romantic era. The pagan tribes of Europe furnished another body of tradition.

The Enlightenment and the romantic movement of modern European culture stimulated interest in myth, both through theories about myth and through new academic disciplines. Enlightenment scholars tried to make sense of the seemingly irrational and fantastic mythic stories. Romantic scholars tended to view myth as an irreducible form of human expression: For them, myth, as a mode of thinking and perception, possessed prestige equal to or sometimes greater than the rational grasp of reality.

Types of Myth

Myths may be classified according to the dominant theme they portray.

- Cosmogonic Myths

Usually the most important myth in a culture is the cosmogonic myth that relates how the entire world came into being. In some narratives, as in the Book of Genesis as well as in Egyptian, Australian, Greek, and Mayan myths, the creation of the world proceeds from nothing (creatio ex nihilo). Other cosmogonic myths describe creation as an emergence from the lower worlds. Another kind of cosmogonic myth is the world-parent myth. In the Babylonian creation story Enuma elish, the world parents, Apsu and Tiamat, bear offspring who later find themselves opposed to their parents. The offspring defeat the parents in a battle, and from the immolated body of Tiamat the world is created. In other world-parent myths from the Egyptians, Zuñi, and Polynesians, the parents beget offspring but remain in close embrace; the offspring live in darkness, and in the desire for light they push the parents apart, creating a space for the deities to make a human world. A motif of several cosmogonic myths is the act of sacrifice. In the Babylonian myth Tiamat's sacrificed body is the earth, and in the Hindu myth that is recounted in the Rig-Veda, the entire world is the result of a sacrifice by the gods.

Related to cosmogonic myths, but at the other extreme, are myths describing the end of the world (eschatological myths) or the coming of death into the world. They presuppose the creation of the world by a moral divine being, which in the end destroys the world.

Myths of the origin of death describe how death entered the world. In these myths death is not present in the world for a long period of time, but enters it through an accident or because someone simply forgets the message of the gods concerning human life. In Genesis, death enters when human beings overstep the proper limits of their knowledge.

- Myths of Culture Heroes

Other myths describe the actions and character of beings that are responsible for the discovery of a particular cultural artefact or technological process. These are the myths of the culture hero. In Greek mythology Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods, is a prototype of this kind of figure.

- Myths of Birth and Rebirth

Usually related to initiation rituals, myths of birth and rebirth tell how life can be renewed, time reversed, or humans transmuted into new beings.

- Foundation Myths

Since the beginnings of cities sometime in the 4th and 3rd millennia BC, some creation myths have recounted the founding of cities. Cities developed out of ceremonial centres seen as extraordinary manifestations of sacred power.

Mythology has attracted scholars in many fields. Some have studied myths with the aid of materials from history, archaeology, anthropology, and other disciplines. Others have found in myth materials of use in their respective fields-linguistics and psychology, for example.

Various

Some explanatory myths deal with illness and death. Many ancient societies -as well as some primitive present-day societies- believed that a person dies because of some act by a mythical being. Some myths, through the actions of particular gods and heroes, stress proper behaviour. The ancient Greeks strongly believed in moderation. They found this ideal in the behaviour of Apollo, the god of purity, music, and poetry.

Mythical beings fall into several groups. Many gods and goddesses resemble human beings, even though they have supernatural powers. These gods and goddesses were born, fell in love, fought with one another, and generally behaved like their human worshipers. Another group of mythical beings includes gods and goddesses who resemble animals. A third group of mythical beings has no specific name. These beings were neither completely human nor completely animal. An example is the famous sphinx of Egypt, which has a human head and a lion's body.

Human beings play an important part in mythology. Many myths deal with the relationships between mortals and divinities. Some mythical mortals have a divine father and a mortal mother. These human characters are called heroes, though they do not always act heroically in the modern sense. Most stories about heroes are called epics rather than myths, but the difference between the two is not always clear.

Many myths describe places where demons, gods and goddesses, or the souls of the dead live. Most of these places are in the sky or on top of a high mountain. The people believed that the divinities could see everything, and so they located them in a place higher than mortals could reach. Mythical places exist in the mythologies of most peoples. Perhaps the most sacred place in Japanese mythology is Mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan. During part of their history, the Greeks believed their divinities lived on a mythical Mount Olympus. The Greeks also believed in mythical places beneath the ground, such as Hades, where the souls of the dead lived Mythical symbols.

341- Naassenes

The Naassenes were members of a Christian Gnostic school that believed that there was one spiritual system underlying the mythology of all religions. Their initiates were also initiated in the Pagan mysteries of the Great Mother. They claimed the Pagan poet Homer as their prophet and they believed that their Jewish Godman Jesus was the same as the many important mythical Pagan Godmen: Osiris, Attis, Adonis, Pan, Bacchus, … The name is derived from "Nass" meaning "serpent".

342- Nag Hammadi

The place in Egypt where the Dead Sea Scrolls were first found in 1945.

343- Nahum

Nahum is the seventh of 12 Old Testament books known as the Minor Prophets. The book is an "oracle concerning Nineveh" and attributes it to the "vision of Nahum of Elkosh. "The fall of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, provided the occasion for this prophetic oracle. The mighty Assyrian Empire, a threat to the smaller nations of the ancient Middle East, was a particular menace to the Israelite people. Its decline in the face of the Neo-Babylonian power of the Medes and the Chaldeans and its final collapse in the destruction of Nineveh (612 BC) gave the prophet Nahum cause for extolling these events, which, he announced. They occurred because Assyria's policies were not in accord with God's will.

344- Nature Worship

Nature worship is a religious practice that has been followed by various cultures throughout history. It is based on the belief that nature is a god or a group of gods that can grant people favours and protect them from evil. It is directed to nature as a deified collective entity or to all things in nature, including the elements, celestial bodies, plants, animals, and humanity. The worship of the elements does not seem to occur in the most rudimentary religions but frequently arises in later stages of religious development. The worship of fire, found among many primitive peoples, reached its highest development in the ancient Parsis sect of Persia. Celestial bodies have been deified in the religious systems of primitive and highly civilised peoples alike. It reached a high state of development among the Native Americans of Mexico and Peru and early American Indians in agricultural areas asked the rain god for rain to make their crops grow. The sun was also a Hindu deity, regarded as maleficent by the Dravidians of southern India, but considered benevolent by the Munda of the central parts. The Babylonians were sun worshipers, and in ancient Persia worship of the sun was an integral part of the elaborate cult of Mithras. The ancient Egyptians worshipped the sun god Ra; they also apotheosised the moon and the star Sirius. Plants and trees have been worshipped as totems or because of their usefulness, beauty, or fear-inspiring aspect.

345- Nazarene

Nazarene is a title applied to Jesus in the New Testament and, later, to those who followed his teachings (Acts 24:5). In the Greek text there appear two forms of the word:

- The simple form, Nazarenos, meaning "of Nazareth".

- The peculiar form, Nazoraios. This term may have referred to a Jewish sect of "observants," or "devotees," and was later used to describe the Christians.

The members of a Syrian Judeo-Christian sect of the 4th century AD were also called Nazarenes. Although they accepted the divinity of Christ and his supernatural birth, the Nazarenes also maintained strict observance of Jewish laws and customs, a practice abandoned by the majority of Jewish Christians. They used a version of the Gospel in Aramaic called the "Gospel According to the Hebrews", or the "Gospel of the Nazarenes". Arabs and Jews today employ the word Nazarene as a general designation for those of the Christian faith.

346- Nazareth

Nazareth is the town from which Jesus came from according to the Bible and where he lived as a young boy with his parents. It is believed that it was a town or village in Galilee but we do not know where it was at that time, as it is not mentioned in the Old Testament or in Josephus. Christ was later rejected by the town's inhabitants and made Capernaum his headquarters. Modern Nazareth is a town in northern Israel, in lower Galilee, near Haifa.

347- Nazarites

Nazarite, (the "separated" or "consecrated") was the name given to the persons in ancient Israel who devoted themselves to Yahweh by observing certain taboos (abstaining from wine and unclean food, leaving hair uncut, avoidance of contact with dead persons, etc.).

348- Necromancy

Necromancy is the practise of communicating with the dead, usually to foresee the future or to accomplish some otherwise impossible task. Necromancy existed in ancient times among the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Etruscans. In medieval Europe, it was associated with black (that is harmful, or antisocial) magic and was condemned by the church. In case of a premature or violent death, the corpse was thought to retain some vitality; the use of parts of corpses as ingredients of charms came to be an important technique of witchcraft. Necromancy was especially popular in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

349- Neoplatonism

Neoplatonism is the modern name given to the form of Platonism developed by Plotinus in the 3rd century AD and modified by his successors. It dominated the Greek philosophical schools and remained predominant until the teaching of philosophy by pagans ended in the second half of the 6th century AD. It represents the final form of pagan Greek philosophy. A Gnostic influence may be seen in the thought of Plotinus. Conversely, some elements of popular Platonism can always be found in the Gnostic systems.

Neoplatonism began as a complex philosophy and grew in a variety of forms over a long period. Neoplatonist philosophers seem always to have included the following in their teachings:

-1. A plurality of levels of being, arranged in hierarchical descending order, the last and lowest comprising the physical universe, which exists in time and space and is perceptible to the senses.

-2. Each level of being is derived from its superior, a derivation that is not a process in time or space.

-3. Each derived being is established in its own reality.

-4. Each level of being is an image or expression on a lower level of the one above it. The relation of archetype and image runs through all Neoplatonic schemes.

-5. Degrees of being are also degrees of unity; as one goes down the scale of being there is greater multiplicity, more separateness, and increasing limitation.

-6. The highest level of being derives from the ultimate principle, which is absolutely free from determinations and limitations and utterly transcends any conceivable reality, so that it may be said to be "beyond being." Because it has no limitations, it has no division, attributes, or qualifications; it cannot really be named, or even properly described as being, but may be called "the One" to designate its complete simplicity.

-7. Since this supreme principle is absolutely simple and undetermined, man's knowledge of it must be different from any other kind of knowledge.

350- Nestorianism

Nestorianism is a Christian doctrine proposed by Nestorius, archbishop of Constantinople from 428 to 431. Nestorius preached a variant of the orthodox doctrine concerning the nature of Jesus Christ. The orthodox doctrine is that Christ has two natures, one divine and one human, which although distinct are joined in one Person and Substance; Nestorius claimed that in Christ a divine and a human Person acted as one, but did not join to compose the unity of a single individual. Also, according to Nestorius, the Virgin Mary could not be called Mother of God, as she was termed by more orthodox Christians, because her son, Jesus, was born as a man, his divine nature being derived not from her but from the Father who begot him. The doctrines of Nestorius spread throughout the Byzantine Empire during the early 5th century and caused much argument. In 431 the Council of Ephesus declared the Nestorian beliefs to be a heresy, deposed Nestorius and drove him out of the empire and he died in exile, and persecuted his followers.

The sect continued to flourish in Arabia, Syria, and Palestine, and had missions in China, India, and Egypt. But it split into two groups in the 1500's. One group, now known as the Chaldean Christians, transferred its allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church. The other group maintained its old traditions.

351- Nicaea, Councils of

Two ecumenical councils of the Christian church were held at Nicaea (now Oznik, Turkey), a city of ancient Bithynia, in Asia Minor.

First Council of Nicaea

Held in 325, this first ecumenical council was convened by Constantine the Great, Emperor of Rome, to settle the Arian dispute concerning the nature of Jesus Christ. Arius was a priest of Alexandria who believed that Christ is not of the same essence as God. Of the 1800 bishops in the Roman Empire, 318 attended the council. The Nicene Creed, which defined the Son as con-substantial with the Father, was adopted as the official position of the church regarding the divinity of Christ. The council also fixed the celebration of Easter on the Sunday after the Jewish Pesach, or Passover.

Second Council of Nicaea

Held in 787, the second council of Nicaea was the seventh ecumenical council. It was convened by Irene, empress of the East, and attended by 350 bishops, most of whom were Byzantine. Irene's deceased husband had forbidden the use of images for any purpose. The council revoked that decision and allowed again the veneration of images and ordered their restoration in churches.

352- Nicene Creed

The Nicene Creed, also called Niceno-constantinopolitan Creed, is the only true ecumenical Christian statement of faith because it is accepted as authoritative by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and major Protestant churches. The Apostles' and Athanasian creeds are accepted by some but not all of these churches. Until the early 20th century, it was assumed that the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed was a modification of the Creed of Nicaea promulgated at the Council of Nicaea (325). This modification, approved at the Council of Constantinople (381), aimed to update the Creed of Nicaea in regard to heresies about the Incarnation and the Holy Spirit. New discoveries showed that the Council of Constantinople issued it even though this fact was first explicitly stated at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. It was probably based on a baptismal creed already in existence, but it was an independent document, and not an enlargement of the Creed of Nicaea.

353- Noesis or intuition

Noesis means intuition. In philosophy, intuition means the power of obtaining knowledge that cannot be acquired by observation. Intuition is thought of as an original, independent source of knowledge. Knowledge of necessary truths and of moral principles is sometimes explained in this way. Some necessary truth can be inferred, or logically derived, from others. The interconnected character of such a system, the derivability of statements from axioms, presupposes rules of inference. Axioms are ordinarily truisms; consequently, self-evidence may be taken as a mark of intuition. To "see" that one statement follows from another, that a particular inference is valid, enables one to make an "intuitive induction" of the validity of all inferences of that kind. Other non-formal necessary truths are also explained as intuitive inductions. The same argument can be brought against both theories. The axioms of logic and morality do not require for their interpretation a special source of knowledge, since neither records discoveries. Two further technical senses of intuition may be briefly mentioned. One, deriving from Immanuel Kant, is that in which it is understood as referring to the source of all knowledge of matters of fact not based on, or capable of being supported by, observation. The other is the sense attached to the word by Benedict.

354- Nous

In a first act of becoming self-conscious the Logos recognizes itself as the divine mind (Greek: nous), or divine world reason, which was characterized by the Neoplatonic philosopher Plotinus as the "Son" who goes forth from the Father. The next step by which the transcendent God becomes self-conscious consists in the appearance in the divine nous of the divine world, the idea of the world in its individual forms as the content of the divine consciousness. In Neoplatonic philosophy both the nous and the idea of the world are designated the hypostases of the transcendent God.

Anaxagoras (c.500-c.428 B.C.), the Greek philosopher, was the first to introduce a dualistic explanation of universe: held that all natural objects are composed of infinitesimally small particles containing mixtures of all qualities. That mind or intelligence (nous) acts upon masses of these particles to produce objects. Anaxagoras said that "Nous (or Mind)" was the principle of order for all things as well as the principle of their movement. It is the finest and purest of things and is diffused throughout the universe.

355- Novatians

Novatian (about 200-258) was a Roman theologian who became the second antipope in 251. A leader among the Roman clergy, Novatian espoused a rigorism in church discipline that was akin to Montanism.

After the martyrdom of Pope Fabian in 250 during the persecutions of Emperor Decius, the Roman church postponed electing a successor. In 251 the church elected Cornelius as pope. Cornelius advocated the forgiveness and re-admittance of Christians who had committed apostasy under persecution. Novatian, however, believed that after baptism there could be no forgiveness for grave sins. He had himself consecrated pope by three bishops from southern Italy and went into schism with his followers; in 251 Cornelius excommunicated them. The Novatianists established their own church, which endured until the Council of Nicaea formally reunited them with the Catholic Church in 325. Novatian himself is thought to have been martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Valerian. Novatian was the first Roman theologian to write in Latin.

356- Obadiah

Obadiah is the shortest book of the Old Testament, consisting of only one chapter of 21 verses. It is the fourth of 12 short prophetic books known, primarily because of their brevity, as the Minor Prophets. Tradition attributes it to the 6th-century BC Hebrew prophet Obadiah, but many modern scholars question the unity of the book and ascribe it to more than one author, one of which may have been Obadiah.

357- Oblate

Oblate (from Latin oblatus, "one offered up"), in Roman Catholicism describes a layperson connected with a religious order or institution and living according to its rules. Oblate is also the name applied to children placed in a monastery at an early age to be reared by the monks according to the Benedictine Rule; or a member of either the Oblates of Mary Immaculate or the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.

358- Oblations

Oblations is a religious rite in which an object is offered to a divinity in order to establish, maintain, or restore a right relationship of a human being to the sacred order. It is a phenomenon that already existed in the earliest known forms of worship and in all parts of the world.

359- Occultism

Occultism (Latin occulere, "to hide") is the belief in the efficacy of various practices -including astrology, alchemy, divination, and magic- regarded as being based on hidden knowledge about the universe and its mysterious forces. People who believe in occultism consider it to be based on hidden knowledge that ordinary people do not have. Occult knowledge is believed to be obtained through initiation, or through the study of the texts in which it is expounded.

There are occult practices within nearly all traditional civilisations. Western occultism has its roots in ancient Babylonian and Egyptian lore, especially as recorded and transmitted through Neoplatonism and the Hermetic books. Powerfully augmented by Jewish mysticism, occultism was an obscure but important presence in the European Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century). Medieval occult practice included also ceremonial magic rites for evoking spiritual beings

Along with the rediscovery of classical learning, the Renaissance (15th century to 17th century) witnessed a burgeoning of occultism. In Florence, Italy, the court of the Medici sponsored a revival of Neoplatonism by establishing a Platonic Academy. Fraternal orders such as the Rosicrucians also pursued esoteric wisdom. In the late medieval and early modern period (13th century to 15th century) occultism came to be regarded by the church as connected with the worship of Satan. This development resulted in the persecution of witchcraft during the Renaissance, when thousands of women were tortured and killed under the accusation -usually false- that they engaged in occult practices.

Occultism was "re-invented" in the 19th-century as the Spiritualism movement, the Theosophical Society (1875), and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1889). In the 20th century, another rebirth of occultism can be seen in the counterculture movement of the 1960s, with its interest in astrology, divination, and magic. The New Age movement of the 1980s and 1990s may be considered another manifestation of occultism. Until the late 1800's most scientists considered hypnotism an occult practice that is now well accepted in medicine and psychology.

360- Ogdoad

The essential function of any religious dualism is to account for a duality of opposed principles in being. Dualism has a basically cosmological function, the explanation of the structure of the universe, as well as a cosmogonic function, the explanation of the origin of the universe. On a cosmogonic level, dualistic opposition may also be manifest in the celestial world. For instance in the late Zoroastrian there were opposition between the "good" fixed stars and the "bad" planets; also between the world of the Heptad (again the seven planets, under the dominion of the tyrannic archons, or rulers, that cause human passions) and the superior heaven of the Ogdoad (the group of eight divine beings or aeons. In short, the Ogdoad is the Eighth Sphere or Heaven and it is above the seven natural zones or planets.

361- Omophagia

Omophagia means the eating of raw flesh or raw food.

362- Oneness

The Oneness of God is a concept in the Pagan tradition. There were many gods and goddesses who are seen as different faces of the Oneness, the Supreme God, through whom initiates could relate with the Mystery.

363- Ophites

The Ophites (from Greek ophis, "serpent") are the members of several Gnostic sects that flourished in the Roman Empire during the 2nd century AD and for several centuries thereafter. A variety of Gnostic sects, such as the Naassenes and Cainites, are included under the designation Ophites. These sects' beliefs differed in various ways, but central to them all was a dualistic theology that opposed a purely spiritual Supreme Being, who was both the origin of the cosmic process and the highest good, to a chaotic and evil material world. To the Ophites, man's dilemma results from his being a mixture of these conflicting spiritual and material elements. Only gnosis, the esoteric knowledge of good and evil, can redeem man from the bonds of matter and make him aware of the unknown God who is the true source of all being. The Ophites regarded the Jehovah of the Old Testament as merely a demiurge, or subordinate deity who had created the material world. They attached special importance to the serpent in the biblical book of Genesis because he had enabled men to obtain the all-important knowledge of good and evil that Jehovah had withheld from them. Accordingly, the serpent was a true liberator of mankind since he first taught men to rebel against Jehovah and seek knowledge of the true, unknown God. The Ophites further regarded the Christ as a purely spiritual being who through his union with the man Jesus taught the saving gnosis.

364- Orphism

Orphism is the only Greek religion that had a founder, Orpheus. It is a Hellenistic mystery religion based on the teachings and songs of Orpheus. It is thought to have arisen in ancient Greece, although there is no historical evidence for it. Most scholars agree that by the 5th century BC there was at least an Orphic movement, with travelling priests who offered teaching and initiation. It was based on a body of legends and doctrines found by Orpheus. Orphic eschatology laid great stress on rewards and punishment after death, the soul then being freed to achieve its true life.

365- Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church is one of the three major branches of Christianity. It stands in historical continuity with the communities created by the apostles of Jesus in the region of the eastern Mediterranean and spreads by missionary activity throughout Eastern Europe in a second time. The word orthodox (from Greek "right-believing") implies the claim of doctrinal consistency with apostolic truth. The Orthodox Church has also established communities in Western Europe, the western hemisphere, and, more recently, Africa and Asia. Other designations, such as Orthodox Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox, are also used in reference to the Orthodox Church.

Structure and Organization

The Orthodox Church is a fellowship of independent churches each governed by its own head bishop. These autocephalous churches share a common faith, common principles of church policy and organization, and a common liturgical tradition. The languages used in worship and minor aspects of tradition differ from country to country. The head bishops of the autocephalous churches may be called patriarch, metropolitan, or archbishop. A "primacy of honour" belongs to the patriarch of Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) because the city was the seat of the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine. The canonical rights of the patriarch of Constantinople were defined by the councils of Constantinople (381) and Chalcedon (451). In the 6th century he also assumed the title ecumenical patriarch. His position is simply a primacy among equals. Three other ancient Orthodox patriarchates owe their positions to their distinguished pasts: those in Alexandria, Egypt; Damascus, Syria (although the incumbent carries the ancient title patriarch of Antioch); and Jerusalem. The patriarchs of Alexandria and Jerusalem are Greek speaking; the patriarch of Antioch heads a significant Arab Christian community in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. The patriarchate of Moscow and all Russia is the largest Orthodox Church today. It occupies the fifth place in the hierarchy of autocephalous churches, followed by the patriarchates of the Republic of Georgia, Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria. The non-patriarchal churches are, in order of precedence, the archbishoprics of Cyprus, Athens (Greece), and Tirana (Albania) as well as the metropolitanates of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and America.

The autocephalous Orthodox Church in America, officially established in 1970, has as its stated goal the unification of all Orthodox Christians in the U.S. and Canada.

Doctrine

In its doctrinal statements and liturgical texts, the Orthodox Church strongly affirms that it holds the original Christian faith, which was common to East and West during the first millennium of Christian history. More particularly, it recognizes the authority of the ecumenical councils at which East and West were represented together. These were the councils of Nicaea I (325), Constantinople I (381), Ephesus (431), Chalcedon (451), Constantinople II (553), Constantinople III (680), and Nicaea II (787). The concern for continuity and tradition does not imply worship of the past as such, but rather a sense of identity and consistency with the original apostolic witness. The Holy Spirit, bestowed on the church at Pentecost, is seen as guiding the whole church "in all truth" (John 16:13). The power of teaching and guiding the community is bestowed on certain ministries or is manifested through certain institutions (such as councils). The ecumenical councils of the first millennium defined the basic Christian doctrines on the Trinity, on the unique Person and the two natures of Christ, and on his two wills. These doctrines are forcefully expressed in all Orthodox statements of faith and in liturgical hymns. Also, in light of this traditional doctrine on the Person of Christ, the Virgin Mary is venerated as Mother of God Mary. The doctrine of seven sacraments is generally accepted in the Orthodox Church. The central sacrament is the Eucharist; the others are baptism, normally by immersion; confirmation, which follows baptism immediately in the form of anointment with chrism; penance; Holy Orders; marriage; and anointment of the sick. Orthodox canonical legislation admits married men to the priesthood. Bishops, however, are elected from among celibate or widowed clergy. The Orthodox liturgy has been, throughout the centuries of Muslim rule in the Middle East, an instrument of religious survival. It preserves texts and forms dating from the earliest Christian church. The most frequently used Eucharistic rite is traditionally attributed to St. John Chrysostom. In both cases, the Eucharistic prayer of consecration culminates with an invocation of the Holy Spirit. One of the major characteristics of Orthodox worship is a great wealth of hymns. Created during the Byzantine Middle Ages, this liturgical system is still being developed through the addition of hymns honouring new saints. The liturgical and the artistic developments in Orthodoxy are connected with the history of monasticism. Christian monasticism first began in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor and, for centuries, attracted the elite of Eastern Christians into its ranks. Based on the traditional vows of celibacy, obedience, and poverty, it took different forms, ranging from the disciplined community life of monasteries such as the Stoudios, in Constantinople, to the eremitic and individual asceticism of the Hesychasts (from Greek hesychia, "quietude").

History

Constantinople remained the most important centre of Christendom during most of the Middle Ages. Between Constantinople and Rome, tensions periodically arose after the 4th century. After the fall of Rome (476) to Germanic invaders, the Roman pope was the only guardian of Christian universalism in the West. He began to attribute his primacy to Rome's being the burial place of St. Peter. The Eastern Christians respected that tradition and attributed to the Roman bishop a measure of moral and doctrinal authority. The patriarchate of Constantinople understood its own position to be determined exclusively by the fact that Constantinople, the "new Rome," was the seat of the emperor and the Senate. The two interpretations of primacy -"apostolic" in the West, "pragmatic" in the East- coexisted for centuries, and tensions were resolved in a conciliar way. Secondary in themselves, these conflicts could not be resolved because the two sides followed different criteria of judgment: The papacy considered itself the ultimate judge in matters of faith and discipline, whereas the East invoked the authority of councils, where the local churches spoke as equals. In the late medieval period, several attempts made at reunion, particularly in Lyons (1274) and in Florence (1438-39), ended in failure. The papal claims to ultimate supremacy could not be reconciled with the conciliar principle of Orthodoxy, and the religious differences were aggravated by cultural and political misunderstandings. After the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, they recognized the ecumenical patriarch of that city as both the religious and the political spokesman for the entire Christian population of the Turkish Empire. The Orthodox Church in Russia declared its independence from Constantinople in 1448. In 1589 the patriarchate of Moscow was established and formally recognized by Patriarch Jeremias II of Constantinople. Except for the brief reign of Patriarch Nikon in the mid-17th century, the patriarchs of Moscow and the Russian church were entirely subordinate to the czars. In 1721, Czar Peter the Great abolished the patriarchate and thereafter the church was governed through the imperial administration. The patriarchate was re-established in 1917, at the time of the Russian Revolution, but the Communist government persecuted the church.

366- Ousia

The process of emanation is implicit in the concept of a Syzygy. The interrelated opposites, which form the poles of a Syzygy, are called "Ousia" and "hypostasis" and they can be understood as "Subject" and "Object".

The Greek concepts of ousia (nature or essence) and hypostasis (entity, equivalent to person) -in Latin these terms became substantia and persona- have been the object of debates in the Roman Christian Church. Christ was said to have two natures, one of which was of the same nature (homoousios) as the Father, whereas the other was of the same nature as humanity; and the Trinity was said to consist of one ousia in three hypostases. The Platonic origin of this conceptuality is clear in the explanation of the Cappadocian Fathers that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share the same divine ousia in the way Peter, James, and John shared the same humanity.

367- Outer Mysteries

Mysteries, in religion, are secret ceremonies. There are generally two levels of knowledge in most Mysteries. The first level, also known as "Outer Mysteries" can be revealed to most people. The higher level, known as "Inner Mysteries" is given and can be witnessed or participated in only by people who belong to, or are about to join, the group that practices them.

Today some people believe that the knowledge given to the ordinary members of Christian Churches -above all the doctrine contained in the Bible- can be described as "Outer Mysteries or Outer Knowledge". On the other hand the top level of the Church hierarchy are assumed to received further knowledge described as "Inner Mysteries Inner Knowledge".

368- Paean

A Paean as a solemn choral lyric of invocation, joy, or triumph. They originated in ancient Greece where they were addressed to Apollo in his guis0e as Paean, physician to the gods. Paeans were sung at banquets at the festivals of Apollo, and at public funerals. It was the custom for them to be sung by an army on the march and before going into battle, when a fleet left the harbour, and after a victory. Paeans were later addressed to other gods as well as to men who were more or less deified for their achievements.

369- Paganism

Paganism is the concept that describes beliefs and practices associated with the worship of nature. Paganism takes many forms such as pantheism (belief that the whole of reality is divine), polytheism (belief in many gods), and animism (belief that natural features of the world are invested with divine power). The three major monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) have used the term to describe the indigenous religions they encountered -and often replaced.

370- Panentheism

Panentheism is a middle way between the denial of individual freedom and creativity that represent many of the varieties of pantheism and the remoteness of the divine Classical Theism. It supports for the ideal of human freedom and provides grounds for a positive appreciation of temporal process, while removing some of the ethical paradoxes confronting deterministic views. It supports the sacramental value of reverence for life. At the same time the theme of participation with the divine leads naturally to self-fulfilment as the goal of life.

371- Pantheism

Pantheism doctrine maintains that the universe, conceived as a whole, is God and, conversely, that there is no God but the combined substance, forces, and laws that are manifested in the existing universe. The cognate doctrine of panentheism asserts that God includes the universe as a part though not the whole of his being. Both "pantheism" and "panentheism" are terms of recent origin, coined to describe certain views of the relationship between God and the world that are different from that of traditional Theism. Both of the terms stress the all-embracing inclusiveness of God, as compared with his separateness as emphasized in many versions of Theism. On the other hand, pantheism and panentheism, since they stress the theme of immanence are themselves versions of Theism conceived in its broadest meaning. Pantheism stresses the identity between God and the world, panentheism that the world is included in God but that God is more than the world.

372- Papyrus, Papyri

Papyrus is a writing material of ancient times and also the plant from which it was derived, Cyperus papyrus. The papyrus plant was long-cultivated in the Nile delta region in Egypt and was collected for its stalk or stem, whose central pith was cut into thin strips, pressed together, and dried to form a smooth, thin writing surface. The ancient Egyptians used the stem of the papyrus plant to make sails, cloth, mats, cords, and, above all, paper. Paper made from papyrus was the chief writing material in ancient Egypt, was adopted by the Greeks, and was used extensively in the Roman Empire. It was used not only for the production of books (in roll or scroll form) but also for correspondence and legal documents. Papyrus was cultivated and used for writing material by the Arabs of Egypt down to the time when the growing manufacture of paper from other plant fibres in the 8th and 9th centuries AD rendered papyrus unnecessary. By the 3rd century AD, papyrus had already begun to be replaced in Europe by the less-expensive vellum, or parchment, but the use of papyrus for books and documents persisted sporadically until about the 12th century.

373- Parables

Parable is the name given originally by Greek rhetoricians to a literary illustration. In the New Testament it signifies a short, fictitious narrative, designed to illuminate a spiritual truth.

374- Paradise

Paradise (Greek paradeisos, "garden, orchard, paradise") is the term used for Eden as the first place where humankind lived or as a symbol for the state of innocence that ended with the Fall; also, the poetic term for heaven as a place of bliss.

375- Paradosis

The Pagan Gnostics call the second stage of initiation "paradosis", meaning "transmission" (the first stage is called "catharmos"). This second stage of initiation involves the transmission of esoteric philosophy.

376- Parousia

Parousia (presence or arrival) is a New Testament word that describes the second coming of Christ. The First Christians thought the Parousia would come soon and would mean the end of the world. Its non-arrival affected Christianity in depth.

377- Parthians

The Parthians were a tribe of Iranian nomads (the Parni) that, led by Arsaces, seized the satrapy of Parthava about 247 BC from the weakened Seleucid government. Later on they extended greatly their zone of influence. They founded a powerful dynasty in Persia and remaining in power until 226 AD when the Sassanians ended their rule. They took over Palestine in about 40 BC during the reign of Herod the Great, but they soon were thrown out again.

378- Passover

Passover is an important Jewish festival commemorating the exodus of the Hebrews led by Moses from Egypt and their safe flight across the Red Sea. The name of the festival (pesach, Hebrew for "passing over" or "protection") is derived from the instructions given to Moses by God. In order to encourage the Egyptians to allow the Hebrews to leave Egypt, God intends to "smite all the first-born … both man and beast" in the land. To protect themselves, the Hebrews are told to mark their dwellings with lamb's blood so that God can identify and thus pass over them.

The celebration of the holiday begins after sundown on the 14th day of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year. In accordance with rabbinic law, Jews living outside the limits of ancient Palestine celebrate the holiday for eight days and partake of a ceremonial meal, known as the Seder, on the first two nights. The Seder consists of prescribed foods, each of which symbolizes some aspect of the ordeal undergone by the Hebrews during their enslavement in Egypt. During the Seder the narrative of the exodus is recounted and prayers of thanksgiving are offered up to God for his loving protection. Jews living within the limits of ancient Palestine celebrate Passover for seven days, conducting a Seder only on the first night.

Throughout the holiday the Orthodox Jew must abstain from eating leavened bread. Orthodox Jewish tradition prescribes that, during Passover, meals be prepared and served using sets of utensils and dishes reserved strictly for that festival.

379- Patarini

In Italy the Cathar heresy appeared in the 11th and 12th centuries. The Milanese adherents of the heresy were known as Patarini (or Patarines), from Pataria, a street in Milan frequented by rag gatherers. The Patarine movement assumed some importance in the 11th century as a reform movement, emphasising action by lay-people against a corrupt clergy.

380- Paulicians

In Christian church history, the Paulicians are described as members of a heretical sect in the East, with a basis in ethical dualism and growing probably out of opposition to the hierarchical structure of the church. Their founder was Silvanus-Constantine of Mananali (flourished 7th century), who established his first congregation in Armenia about 660. He was put to death by order of the Byzantine emperor Constantine IV, but the sect survived. Although defeated decisively by the Byzantine emperor Basil I in 872, they remained a military power, notably in Thrace (now in Bulgaria), during the next century. The sect fused there with the Bogomils, who survived into the 15th century, and some present-day Armenian sects may be derived from the Paulicians. The sect rejected, in addition to church hierarchy, the Old Testament and parts of the New Testament, as well as the sacraments of baptism, the Eucharist, and marriage. Paulicians were also iconoclasts.

381- Paulists

By the middle of the first century AD there were at least three schools of Christian Gnosticism. Among them was the Paulist School (the other were the Simonians and the Ebionites). They were divided by the definition of the relationship of Christianity to traditional Jewish religions. The Simonians were radical internationalists and rejected Judaism and their god Jehovah as Literalist nonsense. The Ebionites were nationalist who saw Christianity as a Jewish cult and wanted Christians to conform to all the traditional Jewish religious customs.

The Paulists were also internationalists who wanted to free Christianity from close ties with Judaism, but their view was more moderate. They saw Christianity as fulfilling, and therefore surpassing Judaism.

382- Pelagianism

Pelagianism was a 5th-century Christian heresy taught by Pelagius and his followers that stressed the essential goodness of human nature and the freedom of the human will. Pelagius was concerned about the low moral standards among Christians, and he hoped to improve their conduct by his teachings. Rejecting the arguments of those who claimed that they sinned because of human weakness, he insisted that God made human beings free to choose between good and evil and that sin is a voluntary act committed by a person against God's law. Augustine, bishop of Hippo, who asserted that human beings could not attain righteousness by their own efforts and were totally dependent upon the grace of God, opposed Pelagianism. Condemned by two councils of African bishops in 416, and again at Carthage in 418, Pelagius was excommunicated in 418; Pelagius' later fate is unknown.

383- Pentateuch

The word Pentateuch (Greek penta, "five"; teuch, "book") designates the first five books of the Old Testament that is, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

384- Pentecost

Pentecost (Greek pentecoste, "fiftieth"), in Christianity, is a festival observed on the seventh Sunday (50th day) after Easter, commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles as they celebrated the ancient Jewish feast of Shabuoth. In the early church it was a time for administration of the sacrament of baptism, and in the Church of England and other Anglican churches the festival is called Whitsunday in allusion to the white robes traditionally worn by the newly baptized.

385- Peraea

Peraea is a region of Palestine.

386- Persia, Ancient religion

The Persians believed in gods of nature, such as the sun and sky. The people believed the gods had social powers. Mithra, the god of light controlled contracts. The Persians had no temples. They prayed and offered sacrifices on mountains.

Zoroaster (or Zarathustra), a prophet who lived sometime between 1400 and 1000 B.C., reformed the ancient religion. He preached a faith based on good thoughts, words, and deeds, emphasising a supreme god called Ahura Mazda, "the wise spirit." Zoroaster's followers, called Zoroastrians, gradually spread his religion throughout Persia. The teachings of Zoroaster are found in the Gathas, part of a holy book known as the Avesta.

387- Pharisees

Pharisees were the members of a Jewish sect or, more correctly, a Jewish school probably dating from the 2nd century BC. Their chief tendency was to resist all Greek or other foreign influences that threatened to undermine the sacred religion of their fathers, and they took their stand most emphatically upon Divine Law. They originated as the Hasidim, becoming known as Pharisees when John Hyrcanus was high priest of Judea. The Pharisees wished the state and all public and political affairs to be directed and measured by the standard of Divine Law.

Their doctrine was of an ethical, spiritual, and sometimes mystical Judaism. They helped the religion to survive the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 and, later, they became the dominant form of Judaism.

388- Philistine

The Philistines were non-Semitic sea-faring people of Aegean origin. They are mentioned in Egyptian records as prst, one of the Sea Peoples that invaded Egypt in about 1190 BC after ravaging Anatolia, Cyprus, and Syria. After being repulsed, they occupied the coastal plain of Palestine from Joppa southward to the Gaza Strip in the 12th century BC. The area contained the five cities (the Pentapolis) of the Philistine confederacy (Gaza, Ashkelon [Ascalon], Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron) and was known as Philistia from which name the whole of the country was later called Palestine by the Greeks. The Philistines expanded into neighbouring areas and soon came into conflict with the Israelites. With their superior arms and military organization the Philistines were able (c. 1050) to occupy part of the Judaean hill country. They were defeated by the Israelite king David (10th century), and after their history was that of cities rather than of a people. After the division of Judah and Israel (10th century), the Philistines regained their independence. By the early part of the 7th century, Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, Ashdod, and probably Gath were vassals of the Assyrian rulers; but during the second half of that century the cities became Egyptian vassals. With the conquests of the Babylonian king Nebuchadrezzar II (605-562) in Syria and Palestine, the Philistine cities became part of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. In later times they came under the control of Persia, Greece, and Rome. There are no documents in the Philistine language, which was probably replaced by Canaanite, Aramaic, and, later, Greek. Not much is known of the Philistine religion, since all their gods mentioned in biblical and other sources have Semitic names and were probably borrowed from the conquered Canaanites.

389- Phoenicia

Phoenicia is the ancient name of a narrow strip of territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, now largely in modern Lebanon. The territory, about 320 km long and from 8 to 25 km wide, was bounded on the east by the Lebanon Mountains. The southern boundary was Mount Carmel; the northern boundary was generally accepted to be the Eleutherus River, now called the Kabìr, which forms the northern boundary of Lebanon.

Although its inhabitants had a homogeneous civilization and considered themselves a single nation, Phoenicia was not a unified state but a group of city-kingdoms, one of which usually dominated the others. The most important of these cities were Simyra, Zarephath (Sarafand), Byblos, Jubeil, Arwad (Rouad), Acco ('Akko), Sidon (Sayda), Tripolis (Tripoli), Tyre (Sur), and Berytus (Beirut). The two most dominant were Tyre and Sidon, which alternated as sites of the ruling power.

390- Phrygia

Phrygia is an ancient country of Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey; its boundaries varied greatly with time. Early in the 1st millennium BC it is believed to have comprised the greater part of the Anatolian Peninsula, but at the time of the Persian invasion in the 6th century BC it was limited to the districts known as Lesser Phrygia and Greater Phrygia. Lesser Phrygia stretched west along the shores of the Sea of Marmara and the Hellespont to Troas. Greater Phrygia lay farther east and inland, where the Phrygian capital, Gordium (near present-day Ankara), was located. In the 3rd century BC the Gauls occupied the northern part of Greater Phrygia. For purposes of provincial administration the Romans divided Phrygia into two parts, attaching the northeastern part to Galatia Province and the western portion to Asia Province.

The religion of the Phrygians was an ecstatic nature worship, in which the Great Mother of the Gods, Rhea, or Cybele, and a male deity, Sabazius, played a big part. The orgiastic rites of this religion influenced the Greeks and the Romans. The Phrygians were an Indo-European people who entered Asia Minor from Thrace about 1200 BC. The Phrygian cap, a cloth head-covering worn by the Phrygians, was adopted by freed slaves in Roman times, and thus this cap became a symbol of liberty.

391- Physis

If we represent the human body as a circle with radius and a centre, the circumference symbolises the body (Physis), the radius the soul (psyche) and the centre is the spirit known also as "pneuma" or "nous".

The concept "physis", from which we get the word "physical", describes our outer self, or material body.

392- Pistic Christians

Christians who claimed that man was saved by faith, which was to be demonstrated in legalistic and moral terms.

393- Pistis Sophia

Valentinus held that all human beings come from God and that all will in the end return to God. Other Gnostic groups held that there were three types of people -"spiritual," "psychic," and "material"- and that only the first two can be saved. The Pistis Sophia (Faith Wisdom, 3rd century) is preoccupied with the question of who finally will be saved. Those who are saved must renounce the world completely and follow the pure ethic of love and compassion before being identified with Jesus and become rays of the divine Light.

Almost the entire vast literature of Gnosticism has perished, and until recently the only original documents available to scholars were a handful of treatises in Coptic contained in three codices that were discovered in the 18th and late 19th centuries. An interesting one is Pistis Sophia consisting of conversations of the risen Jesus with his disciples about the fall and redemption of the aeon (emanation from the Godhead).

394- Platonism

Platonism is based primarily on the dialogues written by Plato. These can be read in many different ways resulting in many kinds of "Platonism" that only have in common an intense concern for the quality of human life -always ethical, often religious, and sometimes political, based on a belief in eternal realities, independent of the changing things of the world perceived by the senses. Platonism sees these realities both as the causes of the existence of everything in the universe and as giving value and meaning to its contents in general, and the life of its inhabitants in particular. It is this belief in absolute values rooted in an eternal world that distinguishes Platonism from the philosophies of Plato's immediate predecessors and successors, and from later philosophies inspired by them.

In about 387 Plato founded the Academy as an institute for the systematic pursuit of philosophical and scientific teaching and research. He presided over it for the rest of his life. The Academy's interests were not limited to philosophy in a narrow sense but also extended to the sciences as mathematics and rhetoric. To his readers through the ages Plato has been important primarily as one of the greatest of philosophical writers; but to himself, the foundation and organization of the Academy must have appeared to be his chief work. He perhaps intended his dialogues in the main to interest an educated outside world in the more serious and arduous labours of his school. The first students of conic sections, and possibly Theaetetus, the creator of solid geometry, were members of the Academy. Speusippus, Plato's nephew and successor, was a voluminous writer on natural history. The Academy was particularly active in jurisprudence and practical legislation. The Academy survived Plato's death. Though its interest in science waned and its philosophical orientation changed, it remained for two and a half centuries a focus of intellectual life.

395- Pleroma

Pleroma is a Christian concept describing the ineffable cosmos of archetypes.

In the beginning, the Gnostics believed that there was only the transcendent God, a male principle that existed for eternity with a female principle, the Ennoia (Thought). Together they produced two archetypes, Mind (male) and Truth (female). In their turn these principles produced thirty pairs of males and females known as Aeons who, together, constituted the divine Realm, known as the Pleroma or Fullness.

Groups of Gnostics and heretics created exotic Christian myths, legends, and practices. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries these groups often subscribed to theories of dualism: the world of matter created by an evil god and the realm of the spirit created by a good god were irreconcilably pitted against one another. The many Gnostic sects -among them the Valentinians, Basilidians, Ophites, and Simonians- developed a variety of myths. Valentinian myths describe how the pleroma (spiritual realm) that existed in the beginning was disrupted by a Fall. The Creator God became a Demiurge and created the material universe. He deliberately created two kinds of human being and animated them with his breath: the hylics and the psychics. Unknown to the Demiurge certain remnants of pleromic wisdom contained in his breath lodged, as spiritual particles in matter, and produced a third group of beings called pneumatics. The Demiurge tries to prevent Gnostics from discovering their past origins, present powers, and future destinies. Gnostics (the pneumatics) contain within themselves divine sparks expelled from the pleroma. Christ was sent from the pleroma to teach Gnostics the saving knowledge (gnosis) of their true identities and was crucified when the Demiurge of Genesis discovered that Christ (the male partner of the feminine Holy Spirit) was in Jesus. After Christ returned to the pleroma, the Holy Spirit descended.

396- Pneuma

If we represent the human body as a circle with radius and a centre, the circumference symbolises the body (Physis), the radius the soul (psyche) and the centre is the spirit known also as "pneuma" or "nous".

The concept "nous" is also described as "intellect" or better "the witness of all experience". It is a "knowing principle", it is that in us which know; it is the subject of every experience, which all of us calls "I"; it is the sense of being in every human; it is also who we are. A better modern word for "pneuma" and "nous" is "consciousness".

397- Pneumatics

Valentinian myths describe how the pleroma (spiritual realm) that existed in the beginning was disrupted by a Fall. The Creator God of Genesis, aborted from the primordial world, became a Demiurge and created the material universe. He deliberately created two kinds of human being and animated them with his breath: the hylics and the psychics. Unknown to the Demiurge, however, certain remnants of pleromic wisdom contained in his breath lodged as spiritual particles in matter and produced a third group of beings called pneumatics. The God of Genesis now tries to prevent Gnostics from discovering their past origins, present powers, and future destinies. Gnostics (the pneumatics) contain within themselves divine sparks expelled from the pleroma.

398- Poimandres

Poimandres is a Greek word meaning "Sheperd of Men". It is the title of the first book of hermetic literature and of semi-divine being under whose guidance the revelation is received. It is also called "the mind of the Sovereignty".

399- Polytheism

Polytheism means the belief in many gods; it virtually describes all religions other than Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which are monotheistic. Sometimes above the many gods, a polytheistic religion will have a supreme creator and focus of devotion, as in Hinduism; sometimes the gods are considered as less important than some higher goal, state, or saviour, as in Buddhism; sometimes one god will prove more dominant than the others without attaining supremacy, as Zeus in Greek religion. Polytheistic cultures include belief in many demonic and ghostly forces in addition to the gods, and some supernatural beings will be malevolent. Polytheism can be incompatible with some forms of theism, as in the Semitic religions; it can coexist with theism, as in Vaisnavism; it can exist at a lower level of understanding as in Mahayana Buddhism; it can exist as a tolerated adjunct to belief in transcendental liberation, as in Theravada Buddhism.

400- Predestination

In Christianity, predestination is the doctrine that God has eternally chosen those whom he intends to save. The problem of predestination is as universal as religion itself, but the emphasis of the New Testament on the divine plan of salvation has made the issue especially prominent in Christian theology. Three types of predestination doctrine, with many variations, have developed.

- The first theory (associated with Semi-Pelagianism, some forms of nominalism, and Arminianism) makes foreknowledge the ground of predestination and teaches that God predestined to salvation those whose future faith and merits he knew in advance.

- At the opposite extreme is the doctrine of double predestination (from John Calvin, the Synod of Dort, in some of the writings of St. Augustine and Martin Luther and in the thought of the Jansenists) according to which God has determined from eternity whom he will save and whom he will damn, regardless of their faith, love, or merit, or lack thereof.

- A third doctrine (found in other writings of St. Augustine and Luther, in the decrees of the second Council of Orange (529), and in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas) ascribes the salvation of man to the unmerited grace of God and thus to predestination, but it attributes divine reprobation to man's sin and guilt.

401- Pricillianism

This heresy, an unorthodox doctrine that persisted into the 6th century, was proposed by Pricillian (born around 340 in Spain, deceased in 385, Trier, Belgica, Gaul, now in Germany]. He was an early Christian bishop who was the first heretic to receive capital punishment. Priscillian began preaching around Merida and Cordoba, Spain, about the year 375, a doctrine that was similar to both Gnosticism and Manichaeism in its dualistic belief that matter was evil and the spirit good. Priscillian also taught that angels and human souls emanated from the Godhead that bodies were created by the devil, and that human souls were joined to bodies as a punishment for sins. These beliefs led to a denial of the true humanity of Christ. Priscillian and his followers created a quasi-secret society that aimed for higher perfection through ascetic practices and outlawed all sensual pleasure, marriage, and the consumption of wine and meat. The spread of Priscillianism throughout Spain and in southern Gaul disturbed the Spanish church, which soon opposed the new movement. In 380 the Council of Saragossa in Spain condemned Priscillian's ideas, who, nonetheless, was elected bishop of Ávila. The Roman emperor Gratian exiled him and his key disciples to Italy. They managed to be absolved by civil authorities. The Roman emperor Magnus Maximus had Priscillian tried and condemned in 384 by a synod at Bordeaux. Priscillian appealed to Maximus, who ordered him to Trier, where he was judged guilty of sorcery and immorality and was executed. The fall of Maximus in 388 led to a reaction in favour of Priscillianism. In 400 and 447 councils at Toledo in Spain condemned some of Priscillian's doctrines, which in 407-08 were outlawed by the Roman emperor Flavius Honorius. In 563 the Council of Braga renewed the condemnation, and thereafter Priscillianism as an organized cult disappeared.

402- Primacy of Peter

The Catholic doctrine states that Peter was supreme among the Apostles and that the authority given to him by Jesus is continued in the Bishop of Rome, the Pope.

403- Prophecy

Prophecy is a religious phenomenon in which a message is sent by God (or by a god) to human beings through an intermediary known as a prophet. The message may contain a reference to future events, but it is often simply a warning, encouragement, or piece of information. Prophecy includes augury, divination, and oracles, which are techniques by which, it is believed, and the will of the gods can be learned. Prophets have often spoken in ecstasy, a state that may be induced by various methods, including dance or music.

404- Prophet

A Prophet is a divinely inspired revealer, interpreter, or spokesman. Israelite prophecy is better known in the Western World, but the figure of the prophet exists throughout history and worldwide. The prophet differs from other religious authorities in that he claims no personal part in his utterance. He speaks not his own mind but a revelation "from without." He may be "inspired" with his message (as in the case of Jeremiah), or he may be "possessed" by a spiritual power -a god, a spirit, the Holy Ghost- which uses him as an instrument and speaks through him. The prophetic state may occur spontaneously, or it may be induced: by meditation, by mystico-magical formulas and gestures, by music, by drumming, dancing, or the ingestion of intoxicants or narcotics. Prophets very often resist the call until overcome by the superior power that wants to use them as its instrument. The prophet may articulate a message of general and fundamental import, enunciating principles and norms that are critical of the present, in either a destructive or a reforming sense. He may address his tribe or nation as a whole, or may found a new society that will realize his message. The prophetic personality thus frequently becomes a religious founder, reformer, or sectarian leader (Zoroaster, Muhammad, and others). The "ideal-typical" prophet is less concerned with founding a new religion or introducing revolutionary reforms than with criticizing his society from the inside and in the light of what he believes to be the divine norms. If he is a revolutionary, he very frequently does not know it.

405- Proselyte

Proselyte is a word of Greek origin meaning "stranger" or "foreign sojourner". In the New Testament it is used to describe a convert to Judaism. They had to submit to circumcision, offer sacrifice and be baptised. The "God-fearers" were converts who were not circumcised.

406- Providence

Providence is an aspect of divinity on which man bases the belief in a benevolent intervention in human and world affairs. The forms that this belief takes differ, depending on the religious and cultural context. The concept of Providence, divine care of man and the universe, can be called the religious answer to man's need to know that he matters and that he is cared for. In all religions Divine Providence or its equivalent is an element of some importance.

407- Psalms

Psalms is a book of the Old Testament, a collection of 150 hymns or poems known also as the Psalter. The book is divided into five sections. The Hebrew title of the book is Tehillim (Praises or Songs of Praise). Psalms is the first book in the Writings, the third part of the Hebrew canon. It is found between the books of Job and Proverbs in Christian versions of the Bible.

408- Pseudepigrapha

Pseudepigrapha (Greek pseudepigraphos, "falsely ascribed") are Jewish and Christian writings that began to appear about 200 BC and continued to be written well into Christian times; they were attributed by their authors to great religious figures and authorities of the past. Pseudepigrapha were composed in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and they include apocalyptic writings, legendary histories, collections of psalms, and wisdom literature. In most cases, Pseudepigrapha are modelled on canonical books of a particular genre:

Pseudepigrapha are present in the canon of the Old Testament-for example, Ecclesiastes (traditionally attributed to Solomon), the Song of Solomon, and Daniel. Protestants and Jews, however, use the term Pseudepigrapha to describe those writings that Roman Catholics would term Apocrypha. Such works include the Book of Jubilees, the Psalms of Solomon, the Fourth Book of Maccabees, the Book of Enoch, the Fourth Book of Ezra, the Apocalypse of Baruch, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, all of which are ascribed to canonical worthies of the Old.

409- Psyche

If we represent the human body as a circle with radius and a centre, the circumference symbolises the body (Physis), the radius the soul (psyche) and the centre is the spirit known also as "pneuma" or "nous".

The concept "psyche" is also described as "soul" but this can be misleading. In relation to the outer body, we experience "psyche" as "our inner self". For the Gnostics, it is a deeper level of our identity than the body.

410- Psychics

Valentinian myths describe how the pleroma (spiritual realm) that existed in the beginning was disrupted by a Fall. The Creator God of Genesis, aborted from the primordial world, became a Demiurge and created the material universe. He deliberately created two kinds of human being and animated them with his breath: the hylics and the psychics.

411- Purgatory

In the Roman Catholic doctrine, Purgatory is the state of existence or condition of the soul of a person who has died in a state of grace but who has not been purged, or purified, from all possible stain of unforgiven venial sins (pardonable less-serious offences against God), forgiven mortal sins (serious offences against God that destroy sanctifying grace), imperfections, or evil habits. Souls in such conditions must thus be purified before entering heaven. The doctrine of purgatory is derived from 2nd-1st-century-BC Jewish concepts that God will judge persons according to their deeds and that the faithful should pray that God show mercy to souls. II Maccabees, gives the basis for the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory: "But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin" (12:45). Other indirect references to purgatory occur in the New Testament. During the period of the early church the existence of purgatory was seen as a required belief, but it was only imposed at the councils of Lyon and Florence and at the Council of Trent. The place, duration, and nature of the punishments of purgatory have not been definitively answered. Roman Catholic doctrine holds that the souls in purgatory may be aided by the faithful on Earth through prayers, almsgiving, indulgences, fasting, sacrifices, and other works of piety. The existence of purgatory has been denied by Protestant churches and most Eastern Orthodox churches, as well as by the independent churches of Eastern Christianity (Syrians, Nestorians, and Monophysites).

412- Purim

Purim, in Hebrew "Lots" and, in English, The Feast of Lots, is a joyous Jewish festival commemorating the survival of the Jews who, in the 5th century BC, were to be killed by their Persian rulers. The story is related in the Old Testament Book of Esther. Haman, chief minister of King Ahasuerus, unhappy that Mordecai, a Jew, held him in disdain and refused obeisance, convinced the King that the Jews were rebellious and should be slaughtered. Haman set a date for the execution (the 13th day of the month of Adar) by casting lots and built a gallows for Mordecai. When Esther, beloved Jewish queen of Ahasuerus and adopted daughter of Mordecai, heard the news she went to the King to suggest a banquet that Haman would attend. At the meal she pleaded for the Jews and accused "this wicked Haman" of plotting their murder. The King stepped out into the palace gardens and, on his return, he found Haman "falling on the couch where Esther was." The King thought that Haman was attacking the queen; he ordered that Haman be hanged and that Mordecai be named to his position. The Jews throughout the empire were authorised to attack their enemies on Adar 13. After their victory they declared the following day a holiday and named it Purim. There is no historical proof of this biblical episode, and the actual origins of the Purim festival, which existed in the 2nd century AD, remain unknown. The ritual observance of Purim begins with a day of fasting, Ta'anit Esther (Fast of Esther) on Adar 13, the day preceding the actual holiday. The most distinctive aspect of the synagogue service is the reading of the Book of Esther. On Purim, Jews exchange gifts and make donations to the poor.

413- Pyrrhonism

The philosophical school known as Pyrrhonism takes its name from Pyrrho of Elis (c. 365-275 BC). As none of his works survive, scholars rely on the early 3rd-century-AD writings of Sextus Empiricus to understand Pyrrhonism. Pyrrhonists assert or deny nothing, but lead people to give up making any claims to knowledge. The Pyrrhonists say that for each proposition with some evidence for it, an opposed proposition has equally good evidence supporting it. These arguments for refuting each side of an issue are called "tropes." For example, the judgment that Providence cares for all things, based upon the orderliness of the heavenly bodies, is opposed by the judgment that many good people suffer misery and many bad people enjoy happiness. Pyrrhonists call dogmatism as the unjustifiable preference for one mode of existence over another. The Sceptic can live quite nicely, according to Sextus, by following custom and the way things appear to him. In doing this, the Sceptic does not judge the correctness of anything but merely accepts appearances for what they are.

414- Pythagoreans

Pythagoras (circa 582-500 BC) was a Greek philosopher and mathematician who, about 530 BC, settled in Crotona where he founded a movement with religious, political, and philosophical aims, known as Pythagoreanism.

The Pythagoreans believed to certain mysteries, similar to the Orphic mysteries. Obedience and silence, abstinence from food, simplicity in dress and possessions were prescribed. The Pythagoreans believed in immortality and in the transmigration of souls. Their mathematical investigations include their studies of odd and even numbers and of prime and square numbers. From this arithmetical standpoint they developed the concept of number, which became for them the ultimate principle of all proportion, order, and harmony in the universe. Through such studies they established a scientific foundation for mathematics. In geometry the great discovery of the school was the hypotenuse theorem, or Pythagorean theorem. The astronomy of the Pythagoreans marked an important advance in ancient scientific thought, for they were the first to consider the earth as a globe revolving with the other planets around a central fire.

415- Quadrivium

Quadrivium describes the four technical or scientific disciplines of the seven liberal arts: music, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. The three other elementary disciplines were known as the "trivium".

416- Quartodecimans

Quartodeciman is a word that describes those who celebrate Easter on the day of the Passover, the 14th day of the month Nisan, rather that on the Sunday nearest to it. They were mainly from Asia Minor.

417- Qumran

Qumran, also spelled Kumran, is a region on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, the site of the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Excavations at Khirbet Qumran (Arabic for "Qumran Ruins") have revealed the ruins of buildings, believed by some scholars to have been occupied by a community of Essenes, who are also believed to have been the owners of the Scrolls. Excavations at Qumran in the 1950s revealed a complex of structures occupying an area about 260 by 330 feet. Beside an aqueduct system feeding as many as eight internal cisterns as well as two baths there was the principal building, rectangular and more than 100 feet on a side, with a massive tower of stone and brick in its northwestern corner. East of this tower was a large room, possibly a kitchen. South of the tower an upper-story scriptorium, or writing room, was discovered and in another room, a low bench, three mud-brick tables, and two inkwells were found. The scriptorium was separated from a large assembly hall that may also have served as a refectory, and a pantry stocked with hundreds of pottery jars. Archaeologists also found a potter's workshop, two kilns, an oven, a flourmill, and a stable, as well as a few other rooms, probably the living quarters. A cemetery near Qumran holds the remains of about 1,100 male adults while two smaller gravesites were reserved for some 100 women and children. The Essenes separated from the rest of the Jewish community in the 2nd century BC, when Jonathan Maccabeus, and, later, Simon Maccabeus, usurped the office of high priest, which conferred secular as well as religious authority. Simon persecuted the Essenes who opposed the usurpation. They fled into the wilderness with their leader, the Teacher of Righteousness. Some scholars believe that Essenes established a monastic community at Qumran in the mid-2nd century BC. Living apart, like other Essenian communities in Judaea, the members of the Qumran community had visions of the overthrow of the wicked priests of Jerusalem and the establishment of their own community as the true priesthood and the true Israel. They devoted their time to study of the Scriptures, manual labour, worship, and prayer. Meals were taken in common as prophetic celebrations of the messianic banquet. The baptism they practiced symbolized repentance and entry into the company of the "Elect of God." During the reign (37-4 BC) of Herod the Great, an earthquake (31 BC) and fire caused the temporary abandonment of Qumran, but the community resumed its life there until the centre was destroyed in AD 68 by Roman legions under Vespasian. Until about AD 73 the site was garrisoned by Roman soldiers; during the Second Jewish Revolt (132-135), rebels under Bar Kokhba were based there.

418- Rabbi

Rabbi (Hebrew, "my master") is the honorary title of the Jewish masters of the Law. It was in use at the time of Jesus Christ, who was addressed in that way. The title is still maintained, though not strictly, as the official designation of Jewish ministers.

The rabbi was at once student, interpreter, and teacher of the Torah. To prepare men for these varied roles great yeshivas, or academies, were founded in ancient times in Palestine, at Jamnia (now Yavne) and Tiberias (both now Israel); and in Babylonia, at Sura, Nehardea, and Pumbedita. Such rabbinical academies existed in all the countries of the Diaspora into modern times.

419- Reason

In philosophy reason is the faculty or process of drawing logical inferences. The term "reason" is also used in other, narrower senses. Reason is in opposition to sensation, perception, feeling, and desire. Reason has been described as the power of synthesizing into unity, by means of comprehensive principles, the concepts that are provided by the intellect. In formal logic the drawing of inferences is classified as deductive (from generals to particulars) and inductive (from particulars to generals). In theology, reason, as distinguished from faith, is the human intelligence exercised upon religious truth whether by way of discovery or by way of explanation. The limits within which the reason may be used have been laid down differently in different churches and periods of thought. Modern Christianity, especially in the Protestant churches, tends to allow reasoning a wide field, reserving, however, as the sphere of faith the ultimate truths of theology.

420- Rebirth

The concepts of rebirth (and birth) are usually related to some initiation rituals. The myths of birth and rebirth tell how life can be renewed, time reversed, or humans transmuted into new beings.

In myths about the coming of an ideal society (millenarian myths) or of a saviour (messianic myths), eschatological themes are combined with themes of rebirth and renewal. Millenarian and messianic myths are found in tribal cultures in Africa, South America, and Melanesia, as well as in the world religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

421- Rechabites

The Rechabites, in the Old Testament, were a clan of nomads of Kenite ancestry founded by Jonadab, son of Rechab; they made a successful stand against Baal worship in the time of the Hebrew prophet Elijah. They strongly opposed Canaanite luxury, the agricultural life, and the religious corruption they associated with these. Typical of their opposition to civilization was a rejection of the cultivation of vines, which grow slowly and to them suggested the non-nomadic life.

422- Reincarnation

Reincarnation is the concept of human resurrection but also includes ghosts, spirits, and underworld travellers to illustrate and serve as a reminder of human mortality.

423- Relics

In religion, relics are the mortal remains of a saint but the term also includes any object that has been in contact with the saint. Among the major religions, Christianity, almost exclusively in Roman Catholicism, and Buddhism have emphasized the veneration of relics. While expectation of favours may accompany the devotion, it is not all of it. The first Christian reference to relics speaks of handkerchiefs carried from the body of St. Paul to heal the sick. During the 2nd century AD, in the Martyrdom of Polycarp, the bones of the martyred bishop of Smyrna are described as "more valuable than precious stones." The veneration of relics continued and grew in Christianity and the expectation of miracles increased during the Middle Ages. Among the most venerated of Christian relics were the fragments of the True Cross. In the Eastern Orthodox churches, devotion is focused on icons rather than upon relics, though the antimension (the cloth upon which the divine liturgy is celebrated) always contains a relic. The 16th-century Protestant Reformers rejected relics, and the veneration of relics has not been accepted in Protestantism. Like Christianity, Islam has had a cult of relics associated with its founder and with saints. Relic worship was accepted in Buddhism from its earliest days. In Hinduism, although images of divine beings have a major place in popular devotion, the veneration of relics as found in Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism is largely absent.

424- Religion

Religion has always played an important part in all human culture. In all cultures, human beings make a practice of interacting with what are taken to be spiritual powers. These powers may be in the form of gods, spirits, ancestors, or any kind of sacred reality. The spiritual power may be regarded as external to the self, internal, or both. People interact with such a presence in a sacred manner, that is, with reverence and care. For many people, religion is an organised system of beliefs, ceremonies, practices, and worship that centre on one supreme God, or the Deity. For many others, religion involves a number of gods, or deities. There are also people who practice their own religious beliefs in their own personal way, independently of organised religion. But almost all people who follow some form of religion believe that a divine power created the world and influences their lives.

Some people follow a religion because it is part of the heritage of their culture, tribe, or family. Religion gives many people a feeling of security because they believe that a divine power watches over them. These people often ask the power for help or protection. Numerous people follow a religion because it promises them salvation and either happiness or the chance to improve themselves in a life after death. For many people, religion brings a sense of individual fulfilment and gives meaning to life.

There are thousands of religions in the world. The eight major ones are Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shinto, and Taoism. Hinduism, Shinto, and Taoism developed over many centuries while the other religions traditionally bases its faith on the life or teachings of specific individuals: Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who became known as Gautama Buddha, for Buddhism; Jesus Christ for Christianity; Confucius for Confucianism; Muhammad for Islam; and Abraham and Moses for Judaism. The religions that trace their history to individuals follow a general pattern of development. During the individual's lifetime, or soon after his death, a distinctive system of worship ceremonies grows up around his life and teachings. The heart of the cult is the individual's teachings. In addition to inspiring worship, the individual represents an ideal way of life that his followers try to imitate.

Chief characteristics of religion

Most of the leading religions throughout history have shared characteristics. The chief characteristics include:

- Belief in a deity or in a power beyond the individual.

- A doctrine of salvation.

- A code of conduct.

- The use of sacred stories.

- Religious rituals.

The essential qualities of a religion are maintained and passed from generation to generation by sources, called authority, which the followers accept as sacred. The most important religious authorities are writings known as scriptures. Scriptures include the Bibles of Christians and Jews, the Koran of Muslims, and the Vedas of Hindus. Religious authority also comes from the writings of saints and other holy persons and from decisions by religious councils and leaders. Unwritten customs and laws known as traditions also form a basic part of authority.

Belief in a deity.

There are three main philosophical views regarding the existence of a deity.

- Atheists believe that no deity exists.

- Theists believe in a deity or deities.

- Agnostics say that the existence of a deity cannot be proved or disproved.

Most of the major religions are theistic. They teach that deities govern or influence the actions of human beings as well as events in nature. Confucianism is the most important atheistic religion.

- Religions that acknowledge only one true God are monotheistic. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are examples.

- A religion that has a number of deities is polytheistic. The ancient Greeks and Romans had polytheistic religions. Each of their many gods and goddesses had one or more special areas of influence.

- In henotheistic religions, the worship of a supreme Deity does not deny the existence and power of other deities. For example, Hinduism teaches that a world spirit called Brahman is the supreme power. But Hindus also serve numerous other gods and goddesses.

The followers of some religions worship deities that are, or were people, or that are images of people.

- The ancient Egyptian people considered their pharaohs to be living gods. Before World War II (1939-1945), the Japanese honoured their emperor as divine.

- Taoists believe in deities that look and act like human beings. They also worship some deities that were once human beings and became gods or goddesses after death.

- Many people worship nature deities -that is, deities that dwell in or control various aspects of nature. The Chinese in particular have worshipped gods of the soil and grain. Followers of Shinto worship kami, spirits that live in nature.

A doctrine of salvation.

Among the major religions, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism teach a doctrine of salvation. Religions differ, however, in what salvation is and in how it can be gained. A doctrine of salvation is based on the belief that individuals are in some danger from which they must be saved. Christianity and several other major religions teach that the danger is spiritual, is centred in each person's soul, and pertains mainly to life after death. If a person is saved, the soul enters a state of eternal happiness, often called heaven. If the person is not saved, the soul may spend eternity in a state of punishment, which is often called hell. In Christianity, the obstacles to salvation are sin and its effects. In most Asian religions, the obstacles are worldly desires and attachment to worldly things. The saviour may be the individual on whose teachings the religion is based, a god, or some other divine figure.

Some religions consider salvation to be a gift from the Deity or deities. For example, many Christian denominations believe that individuals are saved by the grace of God and not by their own merit. According to Buddhism and Hinduism, the soul lives on after the death of the body and is reborn in another body (reincarnation). According to the karma doctrine, a person's actions, thoughts, and words determine the kind of animal or human body the soul will live in during the next reincarnation. The process of reincarnation continues until, through good deeds and moral conduct, a person finally achieves a state of spiritual perfection, which is salvation. Buddhists call this state nirvana, and Hindus call it moksha. A code of conduct instructs the members of each religion how to act toward the deity and toward one another. Religious codes of conduct differ in many ways, but most agree on several major themes.

The use of sacred stories.

For thousands of years, followers of religions have believed in sacred stories, called myths. Religious rituals include the acts and ceremonies by which believers appeal to and serve God, deities, or other sacred powers. Some rituals are performed by individuals alone, and others by groups of worshipers. The most common ritual is prayer. Through prayer, a believer or someone on behalf of believers, addresses words and thoughts to an object of worship. Prayer includes requests, expressions of thanksgiving, confessions of sins, and praise. Many religions have rituals intended to purify the body. For example, Hindus consider the waters of the Ganges River in India to be sacred. In some religions, pilgrimages are significant rituals. Various religions have services at sunrise, in the morning, at sunset, and in the evening or to mark the beginning of a new year. Many religions celebrate springtime, harvest time, and the new or full moon. Many rituals commemorate events in the history of religions. Rituals also mark important events in a person's life such as birth, marriage, and death. Rituals accept young people into the religion and into religious societies. In Judaism, the ritual of circumcision is performed on male infants. Some Christians baptise babies soon after birth while other Christians baptise only youths or adults.

How the major religions are organised

Many religions have spiritual leaders, often called the clergy. These leaders have the authority and responsibility to conduct religious services, to advise or command believers, and to govern the religious organisation at various levels. In some religions, the laity, the believers who are not members of the clergy, also have important organisational roles. In many countries, there is a state (official or favoured) religion.

Judaism has no head. Each local congregation supervises its own affairs, usually under the leadership of a rabbi.

In the Roman Catholic Church, believers are organised into parishes, which belong to larger districts called dioceses. Dioceses, in turn, belong to provinces. The main diocese in each province is called an archdiocese. Pastors preside over parishes, bishops over dioceses, and archbishops over archdioceses. The pope presides over the entire Roman Catholic Church with the advice and assistance of cardinals. Some Protestant denominations are governed by similar patterns of hierarchies. Others are governed by boards of the clergy and laity or by local congregations.

Confucianism and Islam have no clergy. Scholars who interpret the teachings of the faith provide leadership.

In Shinto and Taoism, the basic organisational unit is the priesthood.

In Buddhism, the chief organisational unit is an order of monks called the sangha. The monks serve as advisers and teachers and play a vital part in everyday life in Buddhist countries. In some Buddhist countries, the head of state is also the leader of the national order of monks.

Hinduism has no consistent pattern of organisation. Hindus tend to worship individually or in families. The Brahmans, members of the highest Hindu castes, perform services in temples.

The origin of religion

The earliest recorded evidence of religious activity dates from about 60,000 B.C. However, anthropologists and historians of religion believe that some form of religion has been practised since people first appeared on the earth about 2 million years ago. Prehistoric people centred their religious activities on the most important elements of their existence, such as the prosperity of their tribe and getting enough food to survive. They often placed food, ornaments, and tools in graves. Prehistoric people drew pictures and performed dances that were intended to promote the fertility of women and animals and to ensure good hunting. They also made sacrifices for the same reasons.

- According to Tylor's theory, early people believed that spirits dwelled in and controlled all things in nature; they thought that spirits lived in such objects or forces as plants, the wind, volcanoes, and the sun. Tylor called the spirits animae, and his theory became known as animism. Prehistoric people, Tylor said, explained such occurrences as windstorms and the change from day to night as the actions of the spirits. Because many of the objects and forces were impressive or very powerful, people started to worship their spirits.

- Muller agreed with Tylor that religion began as spirit worship. But he rejected Tylor's view that the earliest people believed spirits dwelled in nature. Muller suggested that prehistoric people thought that the forces of nature themselves had human qualities, such as good or bad temper. People thus transformed these forces into deities.

- Otto believed that an awareness of holiness and mystery lies at the heart of religious experience and is therefore the basis for all religions. In his view, all human beings possess the capacity for awe and recognise the power of the sacred. For Otto, the holy is the true, the good, and the beautiful, a representation of a basic and universal aspect of being human.

425- Rephraim

Rephaim is the name of some pre- Israelite people but they are not well identified.

426- Resurrection

Resurrection describes the rising from the dead of a divine or human being who still retains his own individuality and body. The belief in the resurrection of the body is usually associated with Christianity, because of the doctrine of the Resurrection of Christ, but it also is associated with later Judaism, which provided basic ideas that were expanded in Christianity and Islam. Ancient Middle Eastern religious thought provided a background for belief in the resurrection of a divine being, but belief in personal resurrection of humans was unknown. In Greco-Roman religious thought there was a belief in the immortality of the soul, but not in the resurrection of the body. Symbolic resurrection, or rebirth of the spirit, occurred in the Hellenistic mystery religions, such as the religion of the goddess Isis, but post-mortem corporeal resurrection was not recognized. The expectation of the resurrection of the dead is found in several Old Testament works. Islam also teaches a doctrine of the resurrection. At Doomsday, all men will die and then be raised from the dead. Later, each person will be judged according to the record of his life. After the Judgment the unbelievers will be placed in hell and the faithful Muslims will go to paradise, a place of happiness and bliss. Zoroastrianism holds a belief in a final overthrow of Evil, a general resurrection, a Last Judgment, and the restoration of a cleansed world to the righteous.

427- Revolts (First and Second Jewish)

In AD 66-70 the Jews rebelled against the Roman rule in Judaea. Before this First Jewish Revolt there were clashes between small groups of Jews and the Romans, who responded with severe countermeasures. In AD 66 the Jews revolted, expelled the Romans from Jerusalem, and overwhelmed in the pass of Beth-Horon a Roman force under Gallus, the imperial legate in Syria (autumn, AD 66). A revolutionary government was set up and extended its influence throughout the whole country. Vespasian was dispatched by the Roman emperor Nero to crush the rebellion. Titus joined him, and together the Roman armies entered Galilee. Josephus headed the Jewish forces but when they met Vespasian's army the Jews fled. After the fall of the fortress of Jatapata, Josephus gave himself up, and the Roman forces retook the country. On August 29, AD 70, Jerusalem fell; the Temple was burned, and the Jewish state collapsed.

In AD 132-135) the Jews rebelled again against Roman rule in Judaea after yeas of clashes in the area. In AD 132, Tinnius Rufus, the Roman governor of Judaea, misrules added to the emperor Hadrian's intention to found a Roman colony in Jerusalem and his restrictions on Jewish religious freedom and observances, led the Palestinian Jewry to revolt. Bar Kokhba became the leader of this Second Jewish Revolt; at first he was successful but his forces were too weak in front of those of the Roman general Julius Severus. With the fall of Jerusalem and then Bethar, a fortress on the seacoast south of Caesarea, the rebellion was crushed in 135. Jews were then forbidden to enter Jerusalem.

428- Rhegium

Rhegium -today Reggio Calabre- is the name of an old Greek colony in the southwest part of Italy, in front of the Sicilian town of Messina.

429- Ritual

A ritual implies the performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by tradition or by sacerdotal decree. Ritual is a specific, observable mode of behaviour exhibited by all known societies.

430- Sabbath

Sabbath (Hebrew Shabbat, derived from the verb shavat, "to rest, cease") designates the holy day of rest observed by the Jews and some Christian denominations on Saturday, the seventh day of the week, and by most Christians on Sunday.

The Bible describes the Sabbath as a reminder of God's rest after the Creation and of the liberation from Egypt. The prohibition of work is never fully explained in the Bible. Among the specific kinds of work prohibited are the kindling of fire, ploughing and harvesting, and cooking.

431- Sabellianism

Sabellianism was a Christian heresy a similar but more developed and less naive form of Modalistic Monarchianism. Sabellius, possibly a presbyter in Rome, proposed it around 217-c. 220. Little is known of his life. Sabellius taught that the Godhead is a monad, expressing itself in three forms:

As Father, in creation.

As Son, in redemption.

As Holy Spirit, in sanctification.

Pope Calixtus was at first inclined to be sympathetic to Sabellius' teaching but later condemned it and excommunicated Sabellius. The heresy broke out again 30 years later in Libya and was opposed by Dionysius of Alexandria. In the 4th century, Arius accused his bishop of Sabellianism. During the Arian controversy this charge was levelled at the supporters of Nicene orthodoxy whose emphasis on the unity of substance of Father and Son was interpreted by Arians to mean that the orthodox denied any personal distinctions within the Godhead. About 375 the heresy was renewed at Neocaesarea and was attacked by Basil the Great. In Spain Priscillian seems to have enunciated a doctrine of the divine unity in Sabellian terms. At the time of the Reformation, Sabellianism was reformulated by Michael Servetus, a Spanish theologian and physician, to the effect that Christ and the Holy Spirit are merely representative forms of the one Godhead, the Father.

432- Sacrament

Sacrament describes any of several liturgical actions of the Christian church, believed to have been instituted by Christ and to communicate the grace or power of God through the use of material objects.

The word sacrament does not appear in the Bible, although baptism, Eucharist, and other rites are reported there. The New Testament basis for sacraments is found in its teaching about mystery, which remains the Eastern Orthodox word for sacrament. In the New Testament, the word mystery refers to God's plan for the redemption of the world through Christ, a plan that unbelievers cannot understand but that is revealed to those who have faith. In the Christian experience, the saving action of Christ is made known and accessible to the church especially through certain liturgical actions such as baptism and the Eucharist. Therefore, these actions came to be known among the Greeks as mysteries, perhaps by analogy to mystery cults.

433- Sacrifice

Sacrifice (Latin sacrificium, originally "something made holy") is a ritual act in which a consecrated offering is made to a god or other spiritual being in order to establish, perpetuate, or restore a sacred bond between humanity and the divine. Offerings may consist of humans or animals (blood offerings) or fruits, crops, flowers, and wine (bloodless offerings).

Sacrifice played a central role in many ancient religions. The ancient Greeks sacrificed animals, sometimes consuming part of the offerings in a celebratory meal as a way of establishing communion with the gods. In Mexico, the Aztecs offered human sacrifices to the sun god, a practice that took as many as 20,000 lives a year. During early Hinduism, the Vedic period, Hindu priests offered humans, animals, and plants in sacrifice at certain stipulated times. The ancient Chinese also practiced human sacrifice and made offerings of domestic animals and of food to gods and to ancestors. Sacrifice has never been practiced in Buddhism, although devotional offerings of incense, lighted candles, and flowers are made to the Buddha.

434- Sadducees

The word Sadducees refers to a Jewish school, or party, that arose in the 1st century BC, taking its name from Zadok, a priest during the reigns of Kings David and Solomon, or from the Zadokites, a family of priests. The Sadducees, an aristocratic party, acknowledged only the written Torah as binding, rejecting the scribes' traditional interpretation and development of the Law. Their criminal jurisprudence was so rigorous that the day on which the Sanhedrin abolished their code was declared a festival. They rejected Pharisaic tradition, which represented an older legal and religious standpoint. The Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection or in any personal immortality, and they denied angels and spirits

435- Sahidic language

Sahidic was the main dialect of the so-called Coptic languages.

436- Salvation

Most religions provide paths that deliver individuals from the bondage of sin, immorality, ignorance, and other types of impurity or disharmony and lead them toward a state of purity of soul, spiritual knowledge, wisdom, godliness, enlightenment, or even eternal life. The ultimate is known as salvation. Religions typically hold that human beings have a higher nature that exists in tension with a lower nature, and the religions offer ways to redeem the former from the latter. Some emphasize the separation of the spiritual part of the self from worldly attachments, while others emphasize living harmoniously in relation to nature, self, and divinity.

437- Samaria

Samaria was an ancient city and state in Palestine. The city was located north of present-day Jerusalem east of the Mediterranean Sea.

The city of Samaria was first built on a hill overlooking a main road to Jerusalem, the capital of King David. Omri, king of Israel (reigned 876-869 BC), made it the capital of the northern kingdom. The Assyrians conquered the region late in the 8th century BC. The conquerors carried off many of the inhabitants, replacing some of them with people that were from other conquered lands. Nevertheless, the people of the region known as Samaria practiced a form of Judaism and preserved the so-called Samaritan Pentateuch which is claimed to have retained an older text of the first five books of the Bible than is currently known in the Jewish Torah. When the Assyrian Empire was overthrown, Samaria passed to the Babylonians and then to the successive conquerors of Palestine.

The Romans called the Sebaste. In New Testament times (1st century AD) the Samaritans were considered heretical and hostile to the Jews.

438- Samaritans

The Samaritans were the members of a community of Jews, now nearly extinct, that claims to be related by blood to those Jews of ancient Samaria who were not deported by the Assyrian conquerors of Israel in 722 BC. The Samaritans call themselves Bene-Yisrael ("Children of Israel"), or Shamerim ("Observant Ones"), for their sole norm of religious observance is the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament). Other Jews call them simply Shomronim (Samaritans); in the Talmud, they are called Kutim. Jews who returned to their homeland after the Babylonian Exile would not accept the help of the Samaritans, in the building of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. Consequently, in the 4th century BC, the Samaritans built their own temple in Nabulus (Shechem). The low esteem that Jews had for the Samaritans was the background of Christ's famous parable of the Good Samaritan.

439- Sanhedrin

Sanhedrin, also spelled Sanhedrim, describes Jewish councils in Palestine under Roman rule, dealing with various political, religious, and judicial functions. The term was applied to various bodies but became the designation for the supreme Jewish legislative and judicial court -the Great Sanhedrin, or simply the Sanhedrin, in Jerusalem. There were also local or provincial Sanhedrims of lesser jurisdiction and authority. In the writings of Josephus and the Gospels the Sanhedrin is presented as a political and judicial council headed by the high priest; in the Talmud it is described as primarily a religious legislative body headed by sages, though with certain political and judicial functions. A third school holds that there were two Sanhedrins, one a purely political council, the other a religious court and legislature. Some scholars attest that the Sanhedrin was a single body, combining political, religious, and judicial functions in a community where these aspects were inseparable. The Great Sanhedrin also supervised the smaller, local sanhedrins and was the court of last resort. The composition of the Sanhedrin is also in much dispute, the controversy involving the participation of the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Some say the Sanhedrin was made up of Sadducees; some, of Pharisees; others, of an alternation or mixture of the two groups. It is still uncertain, for example, whether the Sanhedrin had the power to hand down a death sentence in a case such as that of Jesus.

440- St Peter Basilica

St.Peter's Basilica, Rome, is the main Catholic Church built around the shrine erected around 160 AD on the Vatican Hill commemorating the site of the martyrdom or the burial place of St. Peter, the Apostle.

441- Sancta Sophia

Sancta Sophia (Hagia Sophia) is the patriarchal cathedral of the Byzantine or ecumenical patriarch. Built by emperor Justinian the Great in 537. It is the main church of Eastern Orthodoxy.

442- Satan

See Devil.

443- Schism

Schism, in Christianity, is a break in the unity of the church. In the early church, "schism" was used to describe those groups that broke with the church and established rival churches. The term originally referred to the divisions that were caused by disagreement over something other than basic doctrine. Thus, the schismatic group was not necessarily heretical. Eventually the distinctions between schism and heresy became less clear, and disruptions in the church caused by disagreements over doctrine and others were said to be schismatic. The most important schism was the East-West schism that divided Christendom into Western (Roman Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) branches. It began in 1054 because of various disputes and actions, and it has never been healed, although in 1965 Pope Paul VI and the ecumenical patriarch Athenagoras I abolished the mutual excommunications of 1054 of the pope and the patriarch of Constantinople. Another important schism was the Western Schism between the rival popes of Rome and Avignon and, later, even a third pope. The greatest of the Christian schisms was that involving the Protestant Reformation and the division from Rome. According to Roman Catholic canon law, a schismatic is a baptized person who, though continuing to call himself a Christian, refuses submission to the pope. Other churches have similarly defined schism in terms of separation from their own communion.

444- Scribes

In antiquity the Scribes (Latin scribere, "to write") were the men who acted not only as copyists but also as editors and interpreters of the Bible and of the Law. Among the Jews, a scribe originally was a copyist of the Law or a secretary but eventually became an official roughly equivalent to a town clerk or sometimes a secretary of state. The scribe was a literary man preoccupied with the letter of the Law and was learned in Scripture. The scribes of the Pharisees and the Sadducees represented different and often opposing interpretations of the laws of Judaism. In the 1st century the scribes were the preservers of Judaism after the destruction of the Temple. Among the Greeks, the scribes also began as copyists and became expounders of the Law.

445- Scriptorium

A scriptorium is the writing room of a monastic community for the use of scribes engaged in copying manuscripts. Scriptoria were an important Benedictine feature of the Middle Ages, because of St. Benedict's support of literary activities. All who worked in scriptoria were not monks; lay scribes and illuminators from outside the monastic foundation reinforced the clerical scribes.

446- Scyphians

The Scythians were the members of a wandering indo-European race who lived between the Danube and the Don, and spread between the Caucasus and the Caspian. They were a cruel and salvage people of huge build.

447- See

See is the name given to the city where a bishop has his official residence, although it really refers to the throne of the bishop in his cathedral church.

448- Seleucid Kingdom

The Seleucid dynasty (312-64 BC) founded an empire that at its greatest stretched from Thrace in Europe to the border of India. It was carved out of the remains of Alexander the Great's Macedonian empire by its founder, Seleucus I Nicator. Seleucus, one of Alexander's leading generals, became satrap (governor) of Babylonia in 321, two years after the death of Alexander. The former generals of Alexander fought against each other and Seleucus sided with Ptolemy I of Egypt against Antigonus I, Alexander's successor on the Macedonian throne. In 312 Seleucus defeated Demetrius at Gaza using troops supplied by Ptolemy, and with a smaller force he seized Babylonia that same year, founding the Seleucid kingdom, or empire. By controlling Anatolia and its Greek cities, the Seleucids exerted enormous political, economic, and cultural power throughout the Middle East. The Seleucid kingdom was a major centre of Hellenistic culture. Resistance to Greek cultural hegemony peaked during the reign of Antiochus IV (175-163), who installed a statue to Zeus in the temple at Jerusalem. This act sparked the Maccabean uprising beginning in 165. After 25 years of Maccabean resistance, they took control over Judea from the Seleucids and created an independent Judea in Palestine. The Seleucid kingdom began losing control over large territories in the 3rd century BC. An inexorable decline followed the first defeat of the Seleucids by the Romans in 190. The decline accelerated after the death of Antiochus IV (164) with the loss of Commagene in Syria and of Judea in Palestine. By 141 all lands east of the Euphrates were gone, and attempts by Demetrius II (141) and Antiochus VII (130) could not halt the rapid disintegration of the kingdom. When the Romans finally conquered it in 64 BC, the formerly mighty Seleucid Empire was confined to the provinces of Syria and eastern Cilicia.

449- Sense

Sense is the mechanism or faculty by which an organism is able to react to changes in its external or internal environment. In all higher animals this involves conversion of internal or external stimuli into nerve impulses that travel to specialized areas of the brain, where they are analysed. The five senses ordinarily enumerated for animals include sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Other senses include the sense of motion, the senses of heat, cold, pressure, pain, and equilibrium, or balance.

450- Septuagint

The Septuagint (abbreviation LXX) is the earliest existing Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. The Torah, or Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament), was translated near the middle of the 3rd century BC and the rest of the Old Testament was translated in the 2nd century BC. The name Septuagint was derived later from the legend that there were 72 translators, 6 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, who worked in separate cells, translating the whole, and in the end all their versions were identical. In fact there are large differences in style and usage between the Septuagint's translation of the Torah and its translations of the later books in the Old Testament. A tradition says that translators were sent to Alexandria by Eleazar, the chief priest at Jerusalem, at the request of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 BC). It was in the Septuagint text in Greek that many early Christians located the prophecies they claimed were fulfilled by Christ. In the 3rd century AD Origen attempted to clear up copyists' errors of the Septuagint. Other scholars also consulted the Hebrew text in order to make the Septuagint text more accurate. But it was the Septuagint, not the original Hebrew that was the main basis for the Old Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, Slavonic, and part of the Arabic translations of the Old Testament. It is the standard version of the Old Testament in the Greek Church, and from it Jerome began his translation of the Vulgate Old Testament. The text of the Septuagint is contained in a few early manuscripts. The best known of these are the Codex Vaticanus (B) and the Codex Sinaiticus (S), both dating from the 4th century AD, and the Codex Alexandrinus (A) from the 5th century.

451- Seraphim

The Seraphim are the celestial "adorants" who sing the Trisagion in antiphonal chorus. They are described as having six wings, one pair to hide their eyes, the other to cover their body and the last to fly. They had human hands and voices but it is not known if they had human bodies. They were at Yahweh's service, protecting and adoring Him from the profane and unholy.

452- Sethians

The Sethians were the members of the Gnostic Sethian School of Christianity who adopted a variation of the Pagan Mysteries of Orpheus. They were active also in Rome.

453- Sextus

Sayings of Sextus are a collection of proverbs compiled by a Christian at the end of the 2d century AD, a mixture of Neo-Pythagorean and Christian concepts about God and the spiritual and ascetic life.

454- Shamanism (Shaman)

The belief systems of simple hunting-gathering bands can be complex with regard to the supernatural world, the "forces of nature," and the behaviours of spirits and gods. All human groups, large and small, have shaman-men or women thought to have direct contact with supernatural beings, the spirit world, and forces, from which they derive power to affect such problems as illness. The shaman is often the only person with a religious role in small-scale societies. Shamans were also called medicine men, or medicine women, because their tasks included treating the sick.

The rise of centralised and hierarchised social systems has almost always been accompanied by the development of ecclesiastical religious organisations with full-time priests, complex rituals, and tendencies to make moral and political rules. However these complex religious systems seldom eliminated either the practices of individualised shamanism (especially for healing of sickness) or the family-centred religious observances that reflect kinship solidarity.

Some Native Americans believed that an object in the body caused certain diseases. Shamans began their cure for such conditions with special songs and movements. They usually blew tobacco smoke over the sick person because tobacco was believed to have magical powers. Shamans sucked on the body of the sick person until they "found" the object causing the illness. Then they spit out the object -usually a small stick or a stone that they had hidden in the mouth.

Shamans had some knowledge of medicine, they set broken bones, and used various herb remedies. Many of their remedies are still used today. For instance curare (poison for arrows) is used in treating hydrophobia and tetanus and quinine to treat malaria. The Inca developed "trephining", the removal of part of the skull, often used to relieve pressure on the brain. Occasionally, shamans joined together to form a religious organisation called a curing society. Such organisations included the Midewiwin Society of the Chippewa and the False Face Society of the Iroquois.

455- Sheol

Among the early Teutons the term hell signified a place under the earth to which the souls of all mortals, good or bad, were consigned after death, a conception similar to that of the Hebrew Sheol. Among the early Jews, as in other Semitic nations, existence in Sheol was regarded as a shadowy continuation of earthly life where all of the problems of earthly life came to an end.

Hell, in theology, is any place or state of punishment and privation for human souls after death. More strictly, the term is applied to the place or state of eternal punishment of the damned. Belief in a hell was widespread in antiquity and is found in most religions of the world today.

Early Christian writers used the term hell to designate (1) the limbo of infants, where the anabaptised enjoy a natural bliss but are denied the vision of God; (2) the limbo of the fathers, in which the souls of the just who died before the advent of Christ await their redemption; (3) a place of purgation from minor offences leading inevitably to heaven and (4) the place of punishment of Satan and the other fallen angels and of all mortals who die unrepentant of serious sin.

456- Sibylline Oracles

The Sibylline Oracles is a collection of oracular prophecies in which Jewish or Christian doctrines were allegedly confirmed by a sibyl (legendary Greek prophetess). The prophecies were actually the work of certain Jewish and Christian writers from about 150 BC to about AD 180 and are not to be confused with the Sibylline Books, a much earlier collection of sibylline prophecies. In the Oracles the sibyl proved her reliability by first "predicting" events that had actually recently occurred; she then predicted future events and set forth doctrines peculiar to Hellenistic Judaism or Christianity. In the Byzantine period 12 of the compositions were collected in a single manuscript containing 14 books (of which numbers 9 and 10 are lost).

457- Simonians

By the middle of the first century AD there were at least three schools of Christian Gnosticism. Among them was the Simonians School (the other were the Paulists and the Ebionites). They were divided by the definition of the relationship of Christianity to traditional Jewish religions. The Paulists were also internationalists who wanted to free Christianity from close ties with Judaism, but their view was more moderate. They saw Christianity as fulfilling, and therefore surpassing Judaism. The Ebionites were nationalist who saw Christianity as a Jewish cult and wanted Christians to conform to all the traditional Jewish religious customs.

The Simonians were radical internationalists and rejected Judaism and their god Jehovah as Literalist nonsense.

458- Simony

Simony, the concept of buying and selling of spiritual or church benefits, derives from the name of Simon Magus who, according to an account in the New Testament (see Acts 8:18-24) tried to buy spiritual powers from St Peter. It now means the purchase of any office or authority within the Roman Catholic Church.

Simony was a problem in the Christian church from the time of the Edict of Milan (313), when the church began to accumulate wealth and power, until modern times. This is evident from the frequent legislation against it. In 451, the Council of Chalcedon proscribed ordination for money; the Third Lateran Council reaffirmed this prohibition in 1179 and by the Council of Trent (1545-63). Ecclesiastical law forbids simony and condemns it as a sinful practice that bespeaks a shallow understanding of spiritual values.

Simony was rampant from the 9th to the 11th century. During that period simony pervaded church life on every level, from the lower clergy to the papacy. At the time of the Reformation, major abuses centred on the sale of indulgences and relics. The church's policy that its benefices should not be sold for money was also often jeopardized because many secular lords claimed that they were theirs to dispose of as they wished. Wealthy families bought offices for their members and used them as a form of patronage. Simony was one of the abuses criticized at the time of the Reformation.

459- Sin

In religion sin means a transgression of a sacred or divinely sanctioned law or practice. Some idea of sin is found in most religions. Perhaps the earliest manifestation of it was the strong opprobrium attached to violating a taboo.

In no other sacred book is the sense of sin so fully developed as in the Bible. Throughout the Scriptures sin is the element in humanity that puts human beings against God, requiring repentance and God's forgiveness. In the New Testament, sin is the essential human condition that calls for the redeeming work of Christ. The early Greek Fathers of the Church regarded sin as opposition to the will of God. They did not, however, affirm that the guilt of the sin of the first man, Adam, or the corruption of his nature descended to all humanity. The Orthodox Church has continued to affirm that the human will is as free as Adam's was before the fall.

During the Protestant Reformation Martin Luther and John Calvin maintained the Augustinian emphasis on original sin and on God's grace as the means of redemption. Roman Catholicism distinguishes between mortal sin, which destroys the individual's relationship with God and merits eternal damnation, and venial sin, which does not cut off the individual from God. Protestants have rejected this distinction.

460- Socrates Philosophy

Cosmological speculations, pursued from the beginning of the 6th century, led to chaos of conflicting systems of thought. Socrates, as a young man, was enthusiastically interested in "natural science" and familiarized himself with the various current systems -with the Milesian cosmology with its flat Earth and the Italian with its spherical Earth and with the mathematical puzzles raised by Zeno about the problem of continuity. Socrates hoped to find salvation in the doctrine of Anaxagoras that "Mind" is the source of all cosmic order because this seemed to mean that "everything is ordered as it is best that it should be," that the universe is a rational teleological system but he was disappointed.

With Socrates the central problem of philosophy shifted from cosmology to the formulation of a rule of life, to the "practical use of reason." The specific message from God that Socrates brought to his fellowmen was that of the "care", or "tending", of one's "soul," to "make one's soul as good as possible" -"making it like God"- and not to ruin one's life by putting care for the body, or for "possessions", before care for the "soul", which is most truly a man's self. Socrates' view of the soul stands in contrast with the Homeric and Ionian view of the psyche as "the breath of life," which is given up when the man has perished, and also with the view prevalent in circles influenced by Orphic-type religions, according to which the soul is a sort of stranger loosely inhabiting the body." Thus the soul is the man. A man's happiness or well being, in Socrates' view, depends directly on the goodness or badness of his soul. No one ever wishes for anything but true good, but men miss their happiness because they do not know what it is. In this sense, "all wrong-doing is involuntary." Men need to know true good and not confuse it with anything else, so as to keep from using strength, health, wealth, or opportunity wrongly. If a man has this knowledge, he will always act on it, since to do otherwise would be to prefer known misery to known happiness. To Socrates knowledge of good is the one knowledge of which it is impossible to make an ill use. Politics is the statesman's task of "tending" the souls of all his fellow citizens and making them "as good as possible."

461- Son of God

The declaration that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is one of the most universal in the New Testament. The evangelists meant some special honour by the name. They associated the honour with the story of Jesus' baptism and transfiguration, Paul with the faith in the Resurrection. From this association some have argued that "Son of God" in the New Testament never referred to the pre-existence of Christ but this implication was not absent. What made the implication of pre-existence more prominent in later Christian use of the term "Son of God" was the clarification of the doctrine of the Trinity, where "Son" was the name for the eternal Second Person. As the Gospels show, the application of the name "Son of God" to Jesus was offensive to the Jews. This also made it all too intelligible to the pagans, as early heresies indicate. Facing both the Jews and the Greeks, the apostolic church confessed that Jesus Christ was "God's only Son":

- The Son of God, in antithesis to Jewish claims that the eternal could have no sons.

- The only Son, in antithesis to Greek myths of divine procreation.

462- Son of Man

Son of Man is a Hebrew or Aramaic expression used by Jesus to refer to himself.

463- Sophia (Mythology)

The Gnostics developed a complicated mythology to explain the origin of the material universe. From the unknowable God, a series of lesser divinities was generated by emanation. The last of these, Sophia ("wisdom"), conceived a desire to know the Supreme Being. Out of this illegitimate desire was produced a deformed, evil god, or Demiurge, who created the universe. The divine sparks that dwell in humanity fell into this universe, or else were sent there by the supreme God in order to redeem humanity. The Gnostics identified the evil god with the God of the Old Testament, which they interpreted as an account of this god's efforts to keep humanity immersed in ignorance and in the material world and to punish their attempts to acquire knowledge.

464- Soul

In religion and philosophy, the soul is the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being, which confers individuality and humanity, often considered being synonymous with the mind or the self. In theology, the soul is further defined as that part of the individual that shares in the divine and often is considered to survive the death of the body. Many cultures have recognized some incorporeal principle of human life or existence corresponding to the soul, and many have attributed souls to all living things. There is evidence even among prehistoric peoples of a belief in an aspect distinct from the body and residing in it. Despite widespread and longstanding belief in the existence of a soul, however, different religions and philosophers have developed a variety of theories as to its nature, its relationship to the body, and its origin and mortality. The Muslim concept, like that of the Christian, holds that the soul comes into existence at the same time as the body; thereafter, it has a life of its own, its union with the body being a temporary condition.

465- Space and Time

Many metaphysicians have argued that neither time nor space can be ultimately real. Temporal and spatial predicates apply only to appearances; reality does not endure through time, nor is it subject to the conditions of space. The roots of this view are to be found in Plato and in the thought of the Eleatic philosophers Parmenides and Zeno. Plato conceived his Forms as eternal objects whose true location was nowhere. Similarly, Christian philosophers conceived of God as existing from everlasting to everlasting and as present in all parts of the universe. God was not so much in space and time as the source of space and time. Whatever falls within space and time is limited, for one space excludes another and no two times can be simultaneous. God, however, is by definition an infinite being and so must exist timelessly and apart from space. There could be that a form of reality exists beyond space and time but nothing can be real that does not conform to spatial and temporal requirements. Men think of all events as happening before, simultaneously with, or after the moment that is called "now" and all spatial positions as relating in some way to the point that is called "here." The difficulties found in the notion of time are due to the idea that time is continuous and the idea that it is made up of discrete parts. The eternal is not to be identified with what lasts through all time; it is outside time altogether. When God is said to be eternal, the impression is often given that he has temporal characteristics, although in some higher form. What this higher form is deserves careful consideration; the result of which might be that it is not the conception of time that is incoherent but the conception of God.

466- Spiritualism

Spiritualism, in philosophy, is a characteristic of any system of thought that affirms the existence of immaterial reality imperceptible to the senses. In this view, spiritualism covers a vast array of highly diversified philosophical views. It applies to any philosophy accepting the notion of an infinite, personal God, the immortality of the soul, or the immateriality of the intellect and will. It also includes belief in such ideas as finite cosmic forces or a universal mind, provided that they transcend the limits of gross Materialistic interpretation. Spiritualism as such says nothing about matter, the nature of a supreme being or a universal force, or the precise nature of spiritual reality itself. Plato's view of the soul makes him a spiritualist, and Aristotle was a spiritualist for distinguishing the active from the passive intellect and for conceiving of God as pure actuality (knowledge knowing itself). René Descartes viewed the soul as the unique source of activity, distinct from, but operating within, a body. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz postulated a spiritualistic world of psychic monads. The Idealists F.H. Bradley, Josiah Royce, and William Ernest Hocking saw individuals as mere aspects of a universal mind. For Giovanni Gentile, the pure activity of self-consciousness is the sole reality. The belief in a personal God maintained by Henri Bergson, a French intuitionist, was joined to his belief in a spiritual cosmic force.

467- Stoicism

Stoicism was a school of philosophy founded in ancient Greece. The Stoic philosophy was developed from that of the Cynics, whose Greek founder, Antisthenes, had been a disciple of Socrates. Zeno of Citium established the Stoic school at Athens about 300 BC. Among his disciples were Cleanthes of Assos and Chrysippus of Soli. These three men represent the first period (300-200 BC) of Stoic philosophy.

The second period (200-50 BC) saw the general promulgation of the philosophy and its introduction to the Romans. Chrysippus was succeeded by Zeno of Tarsus and Diogenes of Babylonia; then followed Antipater of Tarsus, who taught Panaetius of Rhodes. Panaetius introduced Stoicism to Rome; among Panaetius's pupils was Posidonius of Apamea in Syria, who was the teacher of the orator Marcus Tullius Cicero.

The third period of Stoicism was Roman. In this period outstanding Stoics included Cato the Younger and, during the empire, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Epictetus, and the emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Stoicism was the most influential philosophy in the Roman Empire during the period preceding the rise of Christianity. The Stoics, like the Epicureans, emphasized ethics as the main field of knowledge, but they also developed theories of logic and natural science. They held that all reality is material, but that matter proper, which is passive, is to be distinguished from the animating or active principle, Logos. According to them the human soul is a manifestation of the Logos. Living according to nature or reason is living in conformity with the divine order of the universe. The four cardinal virtues of the Stoic philosophy are wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance, a classification derived from the teachings of Plato.

All people are manifestations of the one universal spirit and should live in brotherly love and readily help one another. They held that external differences such as rank and wealth are of no importance in social relationships. Thus, before the rise of Christianity, Stoics recognized and advocated the brotherhood of humanity and the natural equality of all human beings.

468- Stylites

Christian ascetics who lived standing on top of a column (Greek: stylos) or pillar were known as stylites. The first to do this was St. Simeon Stylites (the Elder) in AD 423. The best known among his imitators were his Syrian disciple St. Daniel (409-493) in Constantinople, St. Simeon Stylites the Younger (517-592) on Mount Admirable near Antioch, St. Alypius (7th century), near Adrianopolis, St. Luke (879-979) at Chalcedon, and St. Lazarus (968-1054) on Mount Galesion near Ephesus. The practice never spread to the West. The stylite was permanently exposed to the elements, though he might have a little roof above his head. He stood night and day in his restricted area, usually with a rail around him, and was dependent for his scanty sustenance on what his disciples brought him by ladder. He spent most of his time in prayer but also did pastoral work among those who gathered around his column. A stylite might continue this practice briefly or for a long period; St. Alypius stayed atop his column for 67 years.

469- Sufism

Sufism is a mystical Islamic belief and practice in which Muslims seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God. It consists of a variety of mystical paths that are designed to ascertain the nature of man and God and to facilitate the experience of the presence of divine love and wisdom in the world. An abstract word, Sufism derives from the Arabic term for a mystic, sufi, which is in turn derived from suf, "wool," plausibly a reference to the woollen garment of early Islamic ascetics. The Sufis are also generally known as "the poor," fuqara', plural of the Arabic faqir, in Persian darvish. Though the roots of Islamic mysticism formerly were supposed to have stemmed from various non-Islamic sources in ancient Europe and even India, it now seems established that the movement grew out of early Islamic asceticism that developed as a counterweight to the increasing worldliness of the expanding Muslim community; only later were foreign elements that were compatible with mystical theology and practices adopted and made to conform to Islam. By educating the masses and deepening the spiritual concerns of the Muslims, Sufism has played an important role in the formation of Muslim society.

470- Sun God

In the antiquity kings ruled by the power of the sun and claimed descent from it. Solar deities, gods personifying the sun, were sovereign. In ancient Egypt the sun god Re was the main high deity. In the myth relating the voyage of the sun god over the heavenly ocean, the sun sets out as the young god Kheper; appears at noon in the zenith as the full-grown sun, Re; and arrives in the evening at the western region in the shape of the old sun god, Atum. The sun god occupied a central position in both Sumerian and Akkadian religion. The sun was one of the most popular deities among the Indo-European peoples and was a symbol of divine power to them. Surya is glorified in the Vedic hymns of ancient India as an all-seeing god who observes both good and evil actions. He expels not only darkness but also evil dreams and diseases. Sun heroes and sun kings also occupy a central position in Indian mythology. In medieval Iran, sun festivals were celebrated as a heritage from pre-Islamic times. During the later periods of Roman history, sun worship gained in importance and led to "solar monotheism." Nearly all the gods of the period were possessed of solar qualities, and both Christ and Mithra acquired the traits of solar deities. The feast of Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun) on December 25 was celebrated with great joy, and eventually this date was taken over by the Christians as Christmas, the birthday of Christ. The most famous type of solar cult is the Sun Dance of the Plains Indians of North America. In the Pre-Columbian civilizations of Mexico and Peru, sun worship was a prominent feature. In Aztec religion, the sun gods Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca demanded extensive human sacrifice. In both Mexican and Peruvian ancient religion, the Sun occupied an important place in myth and ritual. The ruler in Peru was an incarnation of the sun god, Inti. In Japan the sun goddess Amaterasu was said to be the supreme ruler of the world and the tutelary deity of the imperial clan; to this day the sun symbols represent the Japanese state.

471- Sun Worship

A religious devotion to the sun either as a deity, or as the symbol of a deity, was wide spread in the antiquity. Sun worship was a religious practice that developed in some lands as people came to associate the sun with the growing season and with warmth. It developed especially among agricultural peoples, who needed sunshine for their crops. Sun worship was important in the cultures of ancient Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, and northern India. The sun was a Hindu deity, regarded as maleficent by the Dravidians of southern India and as benevolent by the Munda of the central parts. The Babylonians were sun worshipers, and in ancient Persia worship of the sun was an integral part of the elaborate cult of Mithras. The peoples of Scandinavia also worshipped the sun. Teutonic peoples named the first day of the week for the sun. Sun worship was important to American Indians in the agricultural lands that are now the Southeastern and South-western United States. It also grew up among the Aztec, Inca, and Maya peoples who lived in Central and South America.

In ancient Greece the deities of the sun were Helios and Apollo. The worship of Helios was widespread but in time virtually all the functions of Helios were transferred to the god Apollo, in his identity as Phoebus. Sun worship persisted in Europe even after the introduction of Christianity, as is evidenced by its disguised survival in such traditional Christian practices as the Easter bonfire and the Yule log on Christmas.

Kings and queens in some lands believed themselves to be brothers, sisters, or children of the sun, and they came to be worshipped as gods. For hundreds of years, the Japanese worshipped their emperor as a descendant of the sun goddess, Amaterasu-O-Mi-Kami.

472- Supreme Being

The belief in the creation of the world by a supreme being started only in the highest stage of cultural development; from then on there was a primordial notion of a supreme being, a kind of original intellectual and religious conception of a single creator god. This belief has been found among the cultures of Africa, the Ainu of the northern Japanese islands, Native Americans, south central Australians, the Fuegians of South America, and in almost all parts of the globe. The nature and characteristics of the supreme creator deity differ from culture to culture, but the following characteristics tend to be common:

- He is all wise and all-powerful.

- The world comes into being because of his wisdom.

- The deity exists alone prior to the creation of the world.

- There is no being, or thing, prior to his existence. No explanation can therefore be given of his existence.

- The deity seems to have a definite creation plan in mind and does not create on a trial-and-error basis.

- The creation of the world is an expression of the freedom and purpose of the deity. His mode of creation defines the pattern and purpose of all aspects of the creation, though the deity is not bound by his creation.

In several creation myths, the creator deity removes himself from the world after it has been created; the deity goes away and only appears again when a catastrophe threatens the created order. The supreme creator deity is often a sky god, and the deity in this form is an instance of the religious valuation of the symbolism of the sky. In creation myths of the above type, the creation itself, or the intent of the creator deity, aim to create a perfect world, a paradise. Before the end of the creative act, or sometime soon after the end of creation, the created order or the intent of the creator deity is thwarted by some fault of one of the creatures creating a rupture in the creation myth.

473- Synagogue

In Judaism a Synagogue is an assembly house for communal prayer, study, and meeting. Central and Eastern European Jews called their synagogues "schools"; Reform Jews sometimes use the word temple.

Synagogue architecture has never been standardized, but the following elements are nearly always there: the ark housing the Torah scrolls (the Five Books of Moses in Hebrew written on parchment), which is always on the wall facing Jerusalem; the Ner Tamid ("perpetual flame"), a light always lit, before the ark; a large desk on an elevated platform (bimah), at which the Torah is read before the congregation; a small reader's lectern from which the service is conducted and from which the rabbi may preach; and seating for the congregation. Traditionally, men and women sit in separate sections, but Reform and Conservative synagogues do not observe this custom. A seven-branched candelabrum (menorah) is a standard ornament.

The origins of the synagogue as an institution are obscure. The earliest synagogues discovered (at Masada and Herodium) are from 1st-century AD Palestine and predate the destruction of the Temple. Literary evidences of the 1st century show the synagogue as a well-established institution, but its exact origin is uncertain. The Jerusalem Temple was the centre of the Jewish cult as long as it stood, and the synagogue clearly had a different function, serving as a local meetinghouse for study and, probably, prayer. When the Temple was destroyed, the synagogue became its surrogate.

474- Syncretism

Syncretism is a term used by Plutarch ("de fraterno amore") to describe the fusion of religious cults that occurred in the Greco-Roman world between 300 and 200 BC. The process was sometimes spontaneous but it was also imposed (cult of sarapis).

475- Synod

Synod (from Greek synodos, "assembly"), in the Christian church, means a local or provincial assembly of bishops and other church officials meeting to resolve questions of discipline or administration. The earliest synods can be traced to meetings held by bishops from various regions in the middle of the 2nd century. A synod of bishops from the worldwide Roman Catholic Church meets in Rome at regular but infrequent intervals for the purpose of discussing matters of vital church interest, in an advisory capacity to the pope. In some Protestant churches, the term synod has come to signify an organizational unit. In the Lutheran church, "synod" is used in the names of the national organizational bodies.

476- Syzygy

The word "syzygy" means "yoked together". A syzygy is one thing in two stages, a pair of concept that occurs at the same time, a pair of opposites.

The primal syzygy is the archetype of all subsequent dualities of complementary yet irreconcilable opposites. The ancients represented this duality mythologically as God and Goddess. When the mystery looks at itself, God looks at the Goddess. The Christian Goddess Sophia has been called as a result "the introspection of God", as she is a "reflexion" of God, an "image" of God, a "mirror of God's active power". She is God's psyche, the appearance of his essence.

Ideas, theories, and structured systems of thought also are incorporated into religious symbolism. The idea of unity plays an important part in expressing the oneness of the divinity. The concepts of duality find expression as the body and soul of man: the divine pair; the syzygy (paired emanations) in Gnosticism; the dualism of God and the devil, of good and evil; and, finally, as the two natures of Christ.

477- Tabernacle

The word Tabernacle (in Hebrew MISHKAN or "dwelling") describes the portable sanctuary constructed by Moses as a place of worship for the Hebrew tribes during the period of wandering that preceded their arrival in the Promised Land. It was replaced by Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem in 950 BC. This new Tabernacle complex was designed following specifications dictated by God. It consisted of a large court surrounding a small building that was the Tabernacle proper. The court had the shape of two adjacent squares. In the centre of the eastern square stood the altar of sacrifice and nearby stood a basin holding water used by the priests for ritual ablutions. In the centre of the western square was the ark of the Law situated in the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle. The interior was divided into two rooms, "the holy place" and "the Holy of Holies". The outer room, or "holy place," contained the table with the bread of the Presence, the altar of incense, and the seven-branched candelabrum (menorah). The inner room, or Holy of Holies, was believed to be the actual dwelling place of the God of Israel, who sat invisibly enthroned above a solid slab of gold that rested on the Ark of the Covenant that was a gold-covered wooden box containing the tablets of the Ten Commandments.

478- Talmud

The Talmud is the collection of Jewish civil and religious law, including commentaries on the Torah, or Pentateuch. The Talmud consists of a codification of laws, called the Mishnah, and a commentary on the Mishnah, called the Gemara. The material in the Talmud that concerns decisions by scholars on disputed legal questions is known as the Halakah; the legends, anecdotes, and sayings in the Talmud that are used to illustrate the traditional law are known as Haggada.

There are two Talmud: the Palestinian Talmud, sometimes called the Jerusalem Talmud (written between the 3d and 5th century AD), and the Babylonian Talmud (written between the 3d and 6th century AD). Both contain the same Mishnah, but each has its own Gemara. The Babylonian Talmud became authoritative because the rabbinic academies of Babylonia survived those in Palestine by many centuries.

The Talmud itself, the works of Talmudic scholarship, and the commentaries concerning it constitute the greatest contributions to rabbinical literature in the history of Judaism.

479- Tao

In Chinese philosophy, Tao is a fundamental concept signifying "the correct way," or "Heaven's way." In the Confucian tradition, Tao signifies a morally correct path of human conduct limited to behaviour. In Taoism (the name of which derives from Tao), the concept takes on a metaphysical sense. The Taoists say: "The Tao that can be spoken about is not the Absolute Tao." The Absolute Tao thus defies verbal definition. One aspect of the Tao can be perceived by man that is the visible process of nature by which all things change. Taoists view life and death as simply different stages, or manifestations, of the Absolute Tao and consequently advocate a life in accord with nature. This view contrasts with the life of public service advocated by Confucius.

480- Teacher of Righteousness

Some documents from the inter-testamental period were found in the caves of Qumran in the vicinity of the Dead Sea in the 1940s. All the Dead Sea Scrolls were written before the destruction of the Second Temple and, with the exception of small Greek fragments, they are all in Hebrew and Aramaic. The scrolls formed the library of an ancient Jewish sect, which probably came into existence at the end of the 2nd century BC and was founded by a religious genius, called in the scrolls the Teacher of Righteousness. Scholars have tried to identify the sect with all possible groups of ancient Judaism, including the Zealots and early Christians, but it is now most often identified with the Essenes. The content of these documents confirms and enlarges what was known about the Essenes who are not mentioned in the New Testament but Philo, Josephus, and Eusebius described them. Their founder, the Teacher of Righteousness, believed that he knew the interpretation of the prophets for his time in a way that was not even known to the prophets of their own day. He instigated his followers' withdrawal into desert seclusion in opposition to the ruling powers in the city and the Temple of Jerusalem. There they lived apart from society in constant study of the Scriptures and with a firm belief that they were the elects of Israel living in the end of days and to whom would come messianic figures -a messiah of David (royal) and a messiah of Aaron (priestly). Thus, the Essenes- as the early Jewish Christians--were an eschatological Jewish sect. They believed that they alone, among those living in the end time, would be saved.

481- Temple

Temples are usually buildings of large size, dedicated to one or more divinities. The word temple is derived from templum, the Latin word for a sacred, ceremonial space. A temple almost always stands out clearly from its surroundings and has a pronounced architectural character. The type is common to most societies, being thought of as the dwelling place of the divine. The broad concept includes the mosque, the synagogue, and the church.

The origin of the temple is found in the need for ancient peoples to make concrete their relationship to the forces of nature by means of substantial structures commanding attention. Around these the ceremonies of worship were elaborated, and in many societies the attendant priests became very powerful. Temples were often positioned with regard to some natural feature or phenomenon, such as a holy mountain or the apparent traverse of the sun, and they were often tall or placed on an elevated spot, in order to lessen the distance between mortals and the heavens. The best-known temple is the Jewish Temple of Jerusalem built by King Solomon.

482- Teraphim

Teraphim is a Hebrew word meaning images of household gods in human shape. Initially linked to Ancestor Worship. Later it describes a representation of mother goddess used by women as aids to fertility and childbearing.

483- Testament, New

The New Testament consists of 27 books, which have been chosen out of many 1st and 2nd centuries AD writings that Christian groups considered sacred. In these writings the early church transmitted its traditions, its experience, understanding, and interpretation of Jesus as the Christ and the self-understanding of the church. The church selected these 27 writings as its canon. The canon contained four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), Acts, 21 letters, and one book, Revelation. These were not necessarily the oldest writings, not all equally revelatory, and not all directed to the church at large. The New Covenant, or New Testament, was viewed as the fulfilment of the Old Testament promises of salvation that were continued for Christianity through the Holy Spirit, which had come through Christ, upon the whole people of God. The descent of the Spirit on the community of the Messiah (i.e., the Christ) was thus perceived by Christians as a sign of the beginning of the age to come. The church created the New Testament canon as a continuation and fulfilment of the Old Testament. These 27 books, therefore, were not merely appended to the traditional Jewish threefold division of the Old Testament -the Law (Torah), the Prophets (Nevi'im), and the Writings (Ketuvim)- but rather became the New Testament, the second part of the Christian Bible, of which the Old Testament is the first. As far as the New Testament is concerned, there could be no Bible without a church that created it; yet conversely, having been nurtured by the content of the writings themselves, the church selected the canon. Until circa AD 150, Christians could produce writings either anonymously or pseudonymously, that is using the name of some acknowledged important biblical or apostolic figure. The practice was not believed to be either a trick or fraud since when the message was committed to writing, the author was considered irrelevant, because the true author was believed to be the Spirit. By the mid-2nd century a distinction was made between the apostolic time and the present and there was a gradual cessation of "pseudonymous" writings in which the author could identify with Christ and the Apostles to gain ecclesiastical recognition.

484- Testament, New, Apocryphal

The Apocryphal New Testament (in Greek, "hidden") is the name that refers to more than 100 books written by Christian authors between the 2nd and 4th centuries. The books have two characteristics in common:

In general they resemble New Testament writings, most being gospel, acts, letter, and apocalypse.

They do not belong to the New Testament canon nor to the writings of the recognized Fathers of the Church.

Some of the documents were written for initiates such as the Gnostics; for these people, the works were genuinely apocryphal, that is, "books kept hidden." Others were written for open and general use in the churches but they were not accepted as part of the orthodox canon of the Bible. Some of the writings, such as the Gospel According to the Hebrews, had an important place in the life of Jewish Christians. Others were read in Gnostic circles, such as the Letter of Eugnostos found in the Naj' Hammadì texts. Others, such as the Infancy Story of Thomas and the Acts of Pilate, filled the gaps in the biblical writing with fanciful details about the unknown aspects of Jesus' life.

485- Testament, Old

The Old Testament is the account of God's dealing with the Jews as his chosen people. The first six books of the Old Testament narrate how the Israelites became a people and settled in the Promised Land. The following seven books continue their story in the Promised Land, describing the messages of the prophets. The last 11 books contain poetry, theology, and some additional historical works. Throughout the Old Testament, the Jews' historical relation to God is conceived in reference to the ultimate redemption of all humanity. The Old Testament's profoundly monotheistic interpretation of human life and the universe as creations of God provides the basic structure of ideas in which both Judaism and Christianity exist. The term Old Testament was first introduced by a Christian, Melito of Sardis, about AD 170 to distinguish this part of the Bible from the New Testament. The Old Testament was written originally in Hebrew and Aramaic during the period from 1200 to 100 BC. The Hebrew canon recognizes the following subdivisions of its three main divisions:

- The Torah, or Pentateuch, contains narratives combined with rules and instructions in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

- The Nevi'im, or Prophets, is subdivided into the Former Prophets in the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings; and stories of the Latter Prophets exhorting Israel to return to God in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets.

- The Ketuvim, or Writings, with poetry, theology and drama to be found in Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles.

The Hebrew canon has 24 books while the Old Testament as adopted by Christianity numbers more works. The Roman Catholic canon, derived from the Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible, absorbed some books that Jews and Protestants later declared not canonical; and Christians divided some of the original Hebrew works into two or more parts, specifically, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles (two parts each), Ezra-Nehemiah (two separate books), and the Minor Prophets (12 separate books).

486- Tetrarch

Tetrarch initially meant "ruler of a fourth part". This was the tile of Herod Antipas and of his brother Philip because, together, they had inherited one half of the territory ruled by their father, Herod the Great.

487- Tetragrammaton

The word Tetragrammaton describes the four consonant Hebrew letters, YHWH, the name of the God of the Israelites that had been revealed in this way to Moses directly by God himself.

488- Theism

The word Theism comes from "theos" (Greek for "god"), it means the belief in one God who is personal and worthy of worship, who transcends the world but takes an active interest in it, and who reveals his purpose for human beings through certain individuals, miraculous events, or sacred writings.

Theism is understood to be a form of monotheism. In contrast to theism, pantheism is the view that God is identical with the world or is completely immanent, pervading everything that exists in the world. Deism is the belief that God created the world but then had no further connection with it. Theism is in contrast with atheism and agnosticism. Positive atheism is a disbelief in all gods including the theistic God, whereas negative atheism is simply the absence of belief in any god. Negative atheism is compatible with agnosticism, the denial that a person can know either that God exists or does not exist

Three of the major world religions -Christianity, Islam, and Judaism- are theistic. Theistic strands can also be found in Hinduism that however sees God in an impersonal and pantheistic way. Theravada Buddhism and Jainism reject the theistic idea of God as creator of the universe. A theistic God has no place in Confucianism. The theistic religions of Christianity and Judaism, and to a lesser extent Islam, have greatly influenced the laws, morality, science, culture, and political institutions of the West. However, the rise of modern science and scientific Biblical criticism beginning in the 17th century has put theistic religions on the defensive.

In Western theistic religions, especially Christianity, faith is often contrasted with reason. The precise nature of this contrast varies from denomination to denomination and from theologian to theologian. Many philosophers have attempted to demonstrate the existence of God by rational argument.

- The ontological argument of Saint Anselm, an 11th-century theologian was the first. Anselm's argument maintains that God, defined as the greatest being that can be conceived, must exist, since a being that does not exist would by virtue of that fact lack an attribute that contributes to its greatness.

- The cosmological argument of Aquinas and 18th-century English philosopher Samuel Clarke says that to explain the existence of the contingent universe it is essential to postulate a necessary being, a being whose existence is not contingent on anything else. This necessary being is God.

- The Theological argument is analogous to a machine. According to William Paley, because machines are created by intelligent beings, and because the universe may be thought of as a single, highly complex machine, it is likely that the universe was created by a great intelligence, understood to be God.

- The moral argument by the 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant said that the highest good includes moral virtue, with happiness as the reward for this virtue. He held it is humanity's duty to seek this highest good and that it must therefore be possible to realise it. Kant claimed that this highest good cannot be realised unless there is "a supreme cause of nature," one that has the power to bring about harmony between happiness and virtue. Such a cause could only be God.

- According to this last theory, even if God's existence cannot be known through reason, it is still advantageous to believe in God. Thus, 17th-century French philosopher Blaise Pascal held that belief in God is a better wager than non-belief because there are infinite rewards to gain and little to lose by believing versus infinite rewards to lose and little to gain by not believing.

Two significant problems that arise in connection with theism are the existence of evil and the apparent inconsistencies in the concept of God. The existence of seemingly gratuitous evil makes the existence of a theistic God unlikely, some critics reason, because if God were all-powerful he could eliminate evil, and if he were all-good, he would want to do so. There are inconsistencies in God's attributes because if God were all-good he could not sin, but if he were all-powerful he could.

489- Theocracy

Theocracy means a government by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided.

490- Theological

Theological, philosophical, and scientific theories are rationalizations of the basic insights in terms of the particular culture. The attempt to integrate the meanings of primordiality, dualisms and antagonisms, sacrifices, and ruptures and, at the same time, keep alive the meaning of these structures as religious realities, objects of worship, and a charter for the moral life, has led to the development of doctrines. In "primitive" and archaic societies, the correct ritual enactment of mythical symbols ensures the order of the world. These rituals usually take place at propitious moments (e.g., at the birth of a child, marriage, the founding of a new habitation, the erection of a house or temple, the beginning of a new year). In each case, the seemingly practical activities imitate the mythic structure of the first beginning. Theological and philosophical speculations and controversies centre within and between religious communities over the issues of the primordial nature of reality, dualisms, the process of creation, and the nature of time and space.

491- Theology

Theology is the discipline of religious thought, usually limited to Christianity, but that may be applied to other religions. The themes of theology are God, man, the world, salvation, and eschatology. While the term theology as it originated in the works of Plato and other Greek philosophers denoted the teaching of myth, the discipline received its most distinctive content and methodology within Christianity. The concept of theology as a neutral scientific tool applicable to religions in general is difficult to define. To apply this concept in the discussion of other religions can result in forced analogies and false conclusions. In certain Eastern traditions the concept of theology is relevant only to a very limited extent, and in a very modified form. The objects of the history of religions and those of theology, however, while they must be approached with different criteria, are not fully different. It is the precedent of authority that most clearly distinguishes theology also from philosophy, the tenets of which are generally based on timeless evidence apprehensible by autonomous reason.

492- Theopasschites

The term Theopasschites (meaning "those who believe that God suffered") refers a group of 6th century AD monophysites who, basing their doctrine on Proclus of Constinople (446), believed that one of the Trinity had been crucified. Emperor Justinian agreed with them but the bishops of Constinople and Rome rejected the doctrine.

493- Theosophy

Theosophy (Greek, 'divine wisdom') is a religious philosophy claiming insight into the nature of God and the universe through direct experience, making use of such means as mysticism, meditation, occult practices, and hidden meanings in sacred texts. Theosophists include Neoplatonists and Gnostics, but nowadays they are more generally identified with members of the Theosophical Society, founded by Helena Blavatsky (1831-91). The ideas of the society were heavily influenced by Hindu thought and its base moved to India, where their leading exponent was Annie Besant (1847-1933). The Theosophical Society, with branches throughout the world, aims for the universal brotherhood of man, and the spiritual exploration of unexplained laws of nature.

494- Therapeutae

The word Therapeutae is derived from the Greek and decribes a mystical Jewish sect of ascetics closely resembling the Essenes, believed to have settled on the shores of Lake Mareotis in the vicinity of Alexandria, Egypt, during the 1st century AD. The only original account of this community is given in De vita contemplativa (On the Contemplative Life), attributed to Philo of Alexandria. Their origin and fate are unknown. The sect was severe in discipline and mode of life. According to Philo, the members, both men and women, devoted their time to prayer and study. They prayed twice every day, at dawn and at evening, the interval between being spent entirely on spiritual exercise. They read the Holy Scriptures, from which they sought wisdom by treating them as allegorical, believing that the words of the literal text were symbols of something hidden. Attendance to bodily needs, such as food, was entirely relegated to the hours of darkness. Members of the community lived near one another in separate and scattered houses. Each house contained a chamber, or sanctuary, consecrated to study and prayer. The Therapeutae used, in addition to the Old Testament, books composed by the founders of their sect on the allegorical method of interpreting Scripture. For six days a week, members lived apart, seeking wisdom in solitude. On the Sabbath they met in the common sanctuary, where they listened to a discourse by the member most skilled in their doctrines, and then ate a common meal of coarse bread and a drink of spring water. The sect revered the number 7 and its square, but the most sacred of numbers was 50. Thus, on the eve of the 50th day they observed an all-night festival, with a discourse, hymn singing, and a meal, followed by a sacred vigil. The main distinction between the Therapeutae and the Essenes is that the latter were anti-intellectual, while "wisdom," Philo says, was the main objective of the Therapeutae. The Therapeutae shared with the Essenes a dualistic view of body and soul.

495- Theurgy

Theurgy can be defined as religious magic.

496- Thomism

Thomism refers to a philosophical and theological system developed by Thomas Aquinas, by his later commentators, and by modern scholars, known as neo-Thomists. Thomas Aquinas, distinguishing between the realms of nature (in which reason and philosophy prevail) and supernature (in which faith and theology are dominant), amalgamed the thought of the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato and that of Augustine and other early Church Fathers; he also developed a complex and distinctive corpus of thought of his own. He distinguished between essence and existence and maintained that the human soul is a unique subsistent form, united with matter to constitute human nature. Dominican scholars researched the thought of Thomas through the 16th century. In the 19th and 20th centuries the study of Thomism was revived, by the Jesuits at the request of the papacy, as a philosophical basis to answer contemporary problems. Since the mid-20th century neo-Thomists have tried to develop a philosophy of science, to take account of phenomenological and psychiatric findings, and to evaluate the ontology (theories of Being) of existentialism and naturalism.

497-Thrace

Thrace is a region in southeast Europe forming part of present-day Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey. The name was first applied by the ancient Greeks to the northeastern shores of the Aegean Sea. Later the name was used for the greater part of the eastern Balkan Peninsula, bounded on the north by the Danube River, on the east by the Euxine (Black Sea), on the south by the Propontis (Sea of Marmara), the Bosporus, the Hellespont (Dardanelles), the Aegean Sea, and Macedonia, and on the west by Macedonia, Paionia, and Dardania.

Ancient Thrace was largely uncultivated and covered with forest; mineral deposits, particularly of gold, made the region a coveted possession. The Thracians were a barbaric, warlike people who established their own kingdom in the 5th century BC. Thrace became successively a Macedonian, Roman, and Byzantine province. It became a Roman province in 46 AD.

498- Thumos

The term Thumos describes the appetitive or vegetative life and nature.

499- Time

See "Space and Time".

500- Titans

In Greek mythology, the Titans were the children of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth) and their descendants. According to Hesiod's Theogony, there were 12 original Titans: the brothers Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Cronus and the sisters Thea, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys. At the instigation of Gaea the Titans rebelled against their father, who had shut them up in the underworld (Tartarus). Under the leadership of Cronus they deposed Uranus and set up Cronus as their ruler. Zeus, Cronus' sons, rebelled against his father and the Titans who sided with Cronus but with the help of his brothers and sisters they defeated the Titans after 10 years of fierce battles (the Titanomachia). Zeus imprisoned the Titans in a cavity beneath Tartarus.

The Titans were giants possessing superhuman strength and often special powers. In mythology, gods are often portrayed as titans.

501- Tithe

A tithe is a tax to be paid to the church, normally a tenth part of one's income.

502- Torah

The Torah (Hebrew, "law" or "doctrine") is the "book" of Jewish religion and law. The scrolls are considered most holy; every synagogue maintains several scrolls, each of which richly decorated. A special holiday in honour of the Torah, known as Simhath Torah (Hebrew, "rejoicing in the Law"), is celebrated in the synagogue by singing, marching and dancing with the scrolls.

The term Torah also describes the entire corpus of the Scriptures of the Jews together with the commentaries. The commentaries are called oral Torah to distinguish them from the Pentateuch itself, the written Torah.

503- Transcendentalism

The word transcendentalism, in philosophy and literature, describes the belief in a higher reality than that experienced by human senses, or in a higher kind of knowledge than that achieved by human reason (beyond the limits of possible experience and, in Kantianism, beyond human knowledge). Most transcendentalist doctrines claim that reality is divided into a realm of spirit and a realm of matter. The philosophical concept of transcendence was developed by Plato who affirmed the existence of absolute goodness, characterized as something beyond description and knowable only through intuition. Later religious philosophers applied this concept of transcendence to divinity, maintaining that God can be neither described nor understood in terms of human experience. The doctrine that God is transcendent, that he exists outside of nature, is a fundamental principle in the orthodox forms of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. In theology it means something existing apart from the material universe; it is one of the characteristics of God (by opposition to immanent).

504- Transfiguration

In the New Testament, transfiguration means an event traditionally understood as the revelation of the glory of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. It occurs when Jesus takes his disciples Peter, James, and John to a "high mountain" (traditionally, Mount Tabor): "And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light" (Matthew 17:2). At the same time, the prophets Moses and Elijah appeared to the disciples and a "voice from the cloud" said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him" (Matthew 17:5).

The Feast of the Transfiguration originated in the Eastern Church before the 7th century and was established in 1456 by Pope Callistus III, who fixed its date as August 6 to commemorate a Christian victory over the Ottoman Turks at Belgrade. It is a major feast in the Orthodox and Armenian churches.

505- Trinity

The Trinity in Christian theology is the doctrine that God exists as three persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-who are united in one substance or being. The doctrine is not taught explicitly in the New Testament, where the word God almost invariably refers to the Father; but already Jesus Christ, the Son, is seen as standing in a unique relation to the Father, while the Holy Spirit is also emerging as a distinct divine person.

506- Trivium

Trivium is the medieval name for the three elementary disciplines of the seven liberal arts: grammar that included classical literature, rhetoric that included logic, and dialectic or philosophy.

507- Tropes

Tropes describe the arguments used for refuting each side of an issue. For instance, Pyrrhonists assert or deny nothing, but lead people to give up making any claims to knowledge. The Pyrrhonists say that for each proposition with some evidence for it, an opposed proposition has equally good evidence supporting it. These arguments or propositions are called "tropes".

508- Twelve Tribes of Israel

In the Old Testament, the Twelve Tribes of Israel are the Hebrew people who, after the death of Moses, took possession of the Promised Land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua. Because the tribes were named after sons or grandsons of Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel by God), the Hebrew people became known as Israelites. Jacob's first wife, Leah, bore him six sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. With the exception of Levi, each was the father of a tribe. Two other tribes, Gad and Asher, were named after sons born to Jacob and Zilpah, Leah's maidservant. Two additional tribes, Dan and Naphtali, were named after sons of Jacob born of Bilhah, the maidservant of Rachel, Jacob's second wife. Rachel bore Jacob two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. Though a tribe was named after Benjamin, none bore the name of Joseph. Two tribes, however, were named after Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. The 10 tribes that settled in northern Palestine became known as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.

509- Typology

The interpretations of texts in the Old Testament as predicting and prefiguring subsequent events, a method followed by the Jews and later by the Christians who linked them with the career, saying, death and resurrection of Jesus.

510- Valentinians

A school of Christian Gnosticism was also active in Rome. Valentinus' doctrines used quotations of his orthodox Christian opponents and a Coptic text, the Gospel of Truth, believed to be Valentinus' work. His system reflects the influence of Platonism and of Eastern dualistic religion as well as of Christianity based on a spiritual realm (pleroma) consisting of a succession of aeons (Greek, "emanations") that evolved out of an original divine being. The aeon Sophia (Greek, "wisdom") produced a demiurge (identified with the God of the Old Testament) who created the evil material universe in which human souls, originally of the spiritual realm, are imprisoned. The aeon Christ united himself with the man Jesus to bring redeeming knowledge (gnosis) of the divine realm to humanity. Only the most spiritual human beings, the Gnostics, are able to receive this revelation and to return after death to the spiritual realm. Other Christians can only attain the realm of the demiurge, and pagans, engrossed in material existence, are doomed to eternal damnation.

511- Veda

The Vedas (Sanskrit for "knowledge") are the oldest sacred books of Hinduism literature and consists primarily of four collections of hymns, poetical portions, and ceremonial formulas. The collections are called the Rig-Veda, the Sama-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, and the Atharva-Veda. They are known also as the Samhitas (roughly "collection"). The Vedas include the basis of the doctrines about Hindu divinities. The books also present philosophical ideas about the nature of Brahman, Hinduism's supreme divine being. Hindu law permitted only certain persons to hear the Vedas recited, and so the works became surrounded by mystery. Nevertheless, the ideas presented in the Vedas spread throughout Indian culture.

The four Vedas were composed in Vedic, an early form of Sanskrit. The oldest portions are believed to have originated largely with the Aryan invaders of India some time between 1300 and 1000 BC but the Vedas in their present form are believed to date only from the close of the 3rd century BC. Before the writing down of the present texts, sages called rishis transmitted the Vedic matter orally, changing and elaborating it in the process.

The first three Samhitas are primarily ritual handbooks that were used in the Vedic period by three classes of priests who officiated at ceremonial sacrifices.

- The Rig-Veda contains more than 1000 hymns (Sanskrit rig), composed in various poetic meters and arranged in ten books. It was used by the hotri, or "reciters", who invoked the gods by reading its hymns aloud.

- The Sama-Veda contains verse portions taken mainly from the Rig-Veda. It was used by the udgatri, or chanters, who sang its hymns, or melodies (Sanskrit sama).

- The Yajur-Veda, which now consists of two versions partly in prose and partly in verse, and both with roughly the same material, contains sacrificial formulas (Sanskrit for "sacrifices"). It was used by the adhvaryu, priests who recited appropriate formulas from the Yajur-Veda while actually performing the sacrificial actions.

The fourth Veda, the Atharva-Veda consists almost exclusively of a wide variety of hymns, magical incantations, and magical spells. Largely for personal, domestic use, it was not originally accepted as authoritative because of the deviant nature of its contents.

Strictly speaking, the Vedas include the Brahmanas and the mantras. The formers are prose commentaries attached to each of the four Vedas and are concerned principally with the details and the interpretation of the sacrificial liturgy. The latter are the poetic stanzas of the four Vedas, mantra being the term used specifically for the four verse collections.

Supplementary to the Brahmanas are later esoteric works known as forest treatises, the Aranyakas from Sanskrit aranya for "forest." The latest products of the Vedic period are the sutras (Sanskrit sutra, literally "thread" roughly, "string of rules"). Collections of aphorisms elaborating and dissertating on the Vedic sacrifices, domestic ceremonies (such as marriage and funeral rituals), and religious and secular law, the sutras are significant for their influence on the development of Hindu law.

512- Virgin

Virgin, in old Israel, means an unmarried girl, a maid or maiden. It is also the word used sometime for a young widow. Virginity for a bride was important in the old Israel.

513- Virgin Birth

Virgin birth is the fundamental doctrine of orthodox Christianity that Jesus Christ had no natural father but was conceived by Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit. The doctrine that Mary was the sole natural parent of Jesus is based on the Gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke. This was accepted in the Christian church by the 2nd century, in the Apostles' Creed, and, except for several minor sects, was not seriously challenged until the rise of Protestant theological liberalism in the 19th century. It remains a basic article of belief in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and most Protestant churches. Muslims also accept the Virgin Birth of Jesus.

514- Vulgate

Vulgate designate edition of the Bible in Latin that was pronounced "authentic" by the Council of Trent. The name originally was given to the "common edition" of the Greek Septuagint used by the early Fathers of the Church. It was then transferred to the Old Latin version (the Itala) of both the Old Testament and the New Testament that was used extensively during the first centuries in the Western church. The present composite Vulgate is basically the work of St. Jerome, a Doctor of the Church.

515- Waldenses

The Waldenses are members of a Christian sect that grew out of a movement that opposed the ecclesiastical establishment. A wealthy French merchant of Lyon, Peter Waldoin, founded the sect in the second half of the 12th century. In 1173, Waldo left his wife, gave his fortune to the church and charity, and began preaching in Lyon. Waldo's followers were known as the "poor men of Lyon." Itinerant preachers under a vow of poverty taught a type of religion that has been erroneously associated with the teachings of the Cathari. Their simple, Bible-based preaching proved more popular than the more complex teachings of the Cathari. Pope Alexander III and the Archbishop of Lyon approved of the Waldenses. But the succeeding pope and archbishop forbade -without success- the Waldenses to preach because they were not priests and their teachings differed from the teaching of the church; for example, they denied the pope's authority and the existence of purgatory. They were excommunicated in 1184 by Pope Lucius III and persecuted along with the Cathari in southern France. The Waldenses spread through Europe and an important group settled in secluded areas in the Cottian Alps, a mountain range that now marks the border between France and Italy. The areas are still known today as the Waldensian Valleys.

After the Cathari were crushed, the Waldenses became the victims of the Inquisition in France. In 1487 Pope Innocent VIII organised a crusade against them in Dauphiné and Savoy. Many Waldenses took refuge in Switzerland and Germany, merging gradually with the Bohemian Brethren. The group became openly Calvinistic during the Reformation. In 1535 they paid for the publication in Switzerland of the first French Protestant version of the Bible, prepared by a French Calvinist scholar, Pierre Robert Olivétan. Persecution was renewed in Piedmont in the middle of the 17th century, and the Waldenses did not achieve full civil and religious liberty in Italy until 1848. In 1855 they founded a school of theology in Torre Pellice, in the province of Turin, their headquarters in modern times. The school was moved to Florence in 1860 and to Rome in 1922.

516- Yazidi

Yazidi (also spelled Yezidi, Azidi, Zedi, or Izdi) is a religious sect, located in the districts of Mosul, Iraq; Diyarbakir, Turkey; Aleppo, Syria; Armenia and the Caucasus region; and in parts of Iran. The Yazidi religion is a syncretic combination of Zoroastrian, Manichaean, Jewish, Nestorian Christian, and Islamic elements. The Yazidi believe that they were created separately from the rest of mankind, and they have kept themselves segregated from the people among whom they live. Although scattered and probably numbering fewer than 100,000, they have a well-organized society, with a chief sheikh as the supreme religious head and an emir, or prince, as the secular head. The chief divine figure of the Yazidi is Malak Ta'us ("Peacock Angel"), who rules the universe with six other angels, but all seven are subordinate to the supreme God, who has had no direct interest in the universe since he created it. Yazidi are antidualists; they deny the existence of evil and therefore also reject sin, the devil, and hell. The breaking of divine laws is expiated by way of metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls, which allows for the progressive purification of the spirit.

517- Zabadaeans

Zabadaeans are the name of the members of an Arabian tribe defeated by Jonathan Maccabeus in 144 BC. They lived northwest of Damascus.

518- Zealots

Zealots were members of a Jewish religious-political faction, known for its fanatical resistance to Roman rule in Judea during the 1st century AD. The Zealots appeared during the reign (37-4 BC) of Herod the Great. In AD 6, when Judea was put under direct Roman rule and the authorities ordered a census for purposes of taxation, the Zealots, led by Judas of Galilee, called for rebellion. An extremist group of Zealots, called Sicarii ("dagger men"), adopted terrorist tactics, assassinating Romans and also some prominent Jews who coopered with the Romans. The rebellion was quickly put down, and many of them, probably including Judas, were killed, but others continued to advocate resistance to the Romans. One of Jesus' disciples, Simon, was a Zealot. According to Flavius Josephus, the Zealots played a major role in the general Jewish uprising against the Romans that began in 66. They fought bravely in defence of Jerusalem until its fall in 70. Another group of Zealots held the fortress of Masada against besieging Roman troops until 73, when they committed suicide rather than surrender.

519- Zechariah (The Book of)

Zechariah or Zacharias, is the 11th of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the Minor Prophets, collected in the Jewish canon in one book, The Twelve. Only chapters 1-8 contain the prophecies of Zechariah; chapters 9-14 must be attributed to at least two other, unknown authors. Scholars thus refer to a "second" and "third" Zechariah: Deutero-Zechariah (chapters 9-11) and Trito-Zechariah (chapters 12-14).

520- Zephaniah (The Book of)

Zephaniah, also called Sophonias, the ninth of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the Minor Prophets, collected in one book, The Twelve, in the Jewish canon. The book consists of a series of independent sayings, many of which are attributed to Zephaniah, written probably about 640-630 BC. The actual compilation and the expansion of the sayings are of a later editor. The theme of the book is the "day of the Lord," which the prophet sees approaching as a consequence of the sins of Judah. A few will be saved (the "humble and lowly") through purification by judgment. It is not clear whether the Day of Judgment is conceived as historical or eschatological.

521- Zion

The most easterly of the two hills of ancient Jerusalem; often used as a prophetic and poetical designation of Jerusalem as a whole.

522- Zobah

Zobah was an Aramaean state, the most powerful of the coalition of "Syrian" states that made war upon David while he was engaged with the Ammonites.

523- Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is a religion founded between 1400 and 1000 B.C. by a Persian prophet named Zoroaster. Zoroaster is the Greek form of the Persian name Zarathustra, which means "He of the Golden Light". His doctrines are included in his Gathas (psalms), which form part of the sacred scripture known as the Avesta.

Zoroastrianism teaches a belief in one god, Ahura Mazda, who created all things. Devout people must seek and obey Ahura Mazda, who will judge everyone at the end of worldly time after their bodies have been resurrected. The heart of Zoroastrianism is the belief in a battle between good and evil. Zoroaster taught that the earth is a battleground where a great struggle is taking place between Spenta Mainyu, the spirit of good, and Angra Mainyu, the spirit of evil. Ahura Mazda calls upon everyone to fight in this struggle, and each person will be judged at death on how well he or she fought.

Zoroaster composed several hymns called Gathas that were collected into a sacred book known as the Avesta. These hymns are the only record of what Zoroaster believed, in his own words. Some scholars believe that traces of Zoroaster's theology can be found in the concept of Satan as the personification of evil (Angra Mainyu). They also find similarities between the Zoroastrian belief in Fravashirs (guardian spirits) and the angels of Western religions. The basic tenets of the Gathas consist of a monotheistic worship of Ahura Mazda (the "Lord Wisdom") and an ethical dualism opposing Truth (Asha) and Lie, which permeate the entire universe. All that is good derives from Ahura Mazda's emanations: Spenta Mainyu (the "Holy Spirit" or "Incremental Spirit," a creative force) and his six assisting entities, Good Mind, Truth, Power, Devotion, Health, and Life. All evil is caused by the "twin" of Spenta Mainyu, who is Angra Mainyu (the "Fiendish Spirit"). Angra Mainyu is evil by choice, having allied himself with Lie, whereas Spenta Mainyu has chosen Truth. So too, human beings must choose. Upon death each person's soul will be judged at the Bridge of Discrimination; the follower of Truth will cross and be led to paradise, and the adherents of Lie will fall into hell. All evil will eventually be eliminated on earth in an ordeal of fire and molten metal.

The structural complexity of the Gathic scheme has best been explained by the assumption that Zoroaster amalgamated two religious systems.

- The first is outlined in the Gathas and is most probably Zoroaster's own; this is the monotheistic worship of Wisdom and his emanations (including Asha).

- The second is a portion of the Avesta, the Liturgy of the Seven Chapters, composed after Zoroaster's death in his own dialect.

In the Seven Chapters, the emanations occur in the company of other sacred abstractions; Ahura has the epithet "possessing Asha," but Lie and Angra Mainyu are not mentioned. Many natural objects and mythical creatures, as well as ancestor spirits, are worshipped, and the very figure of Ahura Mazda resembles not so much Zoroaster's deity as the god Varuna (sometimes called the Asura, "Lord") of the most ancient Indian religious compositions, the Rig-Veda. See Veda. The Ahura of the Seven Chapters has wives, called Ahuranis, who, like Varuna's Varunanis, are rain clouds and waters. Ahura is possessor of Asha, as Varuna is custodian of Rta ("Truth" or "cosmic order" = Asha = Old Persian. Arta). The sun is the "eye" of both deities, and the name of Ahura is at times joined to that of the god Mithra. In the Veda, the names of Mithra and Varuna are similarly joined. The Seven Chapters also revere Haoma (Vedic, Soma), a divinised plant yielding an intoxicating juice (perhaps the "filth of intoxication" against which Zoroaster warned). The worship of ancestors and nature spirits and other deities (for example, the fire god, called Agni by the Hindus) likewise has Vedic correspondences.

Probably the first Persian king to recognise the religion proposed by Zoroaster was Darius I. His son, Xerxes I, was also a worshiper of Ahura Mazda, but he probably had less of an understanding of the details of Zoroaster's religion. Artaxerxes I (reigned 465-425 BC) was also a Mazda worshiper, but probably approved of a synthesis, under Magian direction, of Zoroaster's teachings with the older polytheism. Artaxerxes II (reigned 409-358 BC) venerated Ahura Mazda, Mithra, and Anahita. Under the rule of the Greek Seleucids (312-64 BC) and Parthian Arsacids (250? BC-AD 224), cults of foreign gods flourished along with Zoroastrianism. The new Persian dynasty of the Sassanids (AD 224-641) established Zoroastrianism as the state religion of Persia. In the Sassanid theology, Ahriman was opposed to Ohrmuzd (Ahura Mazda), not to Spenta Mainyu. This theology had already appeared in the Magian system of the 4th century BC, according to Greek historians. Certain Sassanid theologians taught that Ohrmuzd and Ahriman were the twin sons of Infinite Time (Zervan), but this doctrine was eventually rejected.

The Arabs gradually converted Persia to Islam after its conquest in the 7th century. Zoroastrianism survived, however in the mountainous regions of Yezd and Kermon. About 18,000 still live in Iran. Zoroastrians, called Parsis (literally, Persians), are numerous and prosperous in India, chiefly in the vicinity of Bombay (now Mumbai).

Part II: Personalities

1-Aaron

Aaron was the first Jewish high priest and the traditional founder of the Hebrew priesthood. Aaron was the older brother of Moses and a descendant of the tribe of Levi. When Moses declined the mission of delivering the Children of Israel from Egyptian bondage, because he was "slow of speech," Aaron was appointed his minister and spokesman. He delivered the message of Yahweh to the Israelites and to the court of the pharaoh. With Moses, Aaron led the Israelites out of Egypt, and in the battle against the Amalekites. Aaron was chosen for the office of priest, which was to be hereditary in his family and was formally consecrated. At Mount Sinai, when Moses and Joshua ascended the mount to receive the stone tablets containing the Law, Aaron and Hur were left in charge of the Israelites. The people, dismayed at Moses' long absence on the mountain, cried out for a god to worship, and Aaron made them a golden calf that provoked the anger of Yahweh. He was pardoned through the intercession of Moses. For their doubts, Moses and Aaron were forbidden to enter the promised land; Aaron died on Mount Hor, and his office was given to his son Eleazar.

2- Abel

Abel, according to the Old Testament was the second son of Adam and Eve and the brother of Cain. Abel was a shepherd, and his older brother, Cain, cultivated the land. Both brothers made an offering to God: Abel offered the firstborn of his flock, and Cain gave the first fruits of his harvest. When Cain's offering was rejected, he became jealous and killed his brother, Abel.

3- Abercius (Avircius Marcellus)

Abercius (Avircius Marcellus) was the Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygya around 190 AD. He opposed Montanism.

4- Abraham

Abraham or Abram was a biblical patriarch, progenitor of the Hebrews, who probably lived in the period between 2000 and 1500 BC. Abraham is regarded by Muslims, who call him Ibrahim, as an ancestor of the Arabs through Ishmael.

Originally called Abram, Abraham was the son of Terah, a descendant of Shem, and was born in the city of Ur of the Chaldees, where he married his half sister Sarai, or Sarah. They left Ur with his nephew Lot and Lot's family under a divine inspiration and went to Haran. Receiving a promise that God would make him a "great nation," Abram moved on to Canaan, where he lived as a nomad. Famine led him to Egypt, but he was driven out for misrepresenting Sarai as his sister. Again in Canaan, after quarrels between Abram and Lot, they separated, Lot remaining near Sodom and Abram continuing his nomadic life.

Ishmael, first son of Abraham, whose mother was Hagar, an Egyptian slave, was born when Abraham was 86 years old. Isaac, born to Abraham by Sarah in his 100th year, was the first of his legitimate descendants. God demanded that Abraham sacrifice Isaac as a test of faith, but because of Abraham compliance, God spared Isaac. After Sarah died, Abraham married Keturah and had six sons by her. He died at the biblical age of 175 and was buried beside Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah, in what is now Hebron, West Bank.

5- Acacius of Caesarea

Acacius of Caesarea was an exponent of Arianism who became bishop of Caesaria in Palestine in 340. The council of Sardica deposed him in 343. He was a leading figure of the Homaeans, proposing a Homaean Creed at Council of Seleucia in 359. He signed the Creed of Nicea at Antioch in 363 but returned to Arianism. He was deposed by the Synod of Lampsacus in 365 and died in 366. Not much of his work survived.

6- Acacius of Constantinople

Acacius of Constantinople became its Patriarch in 471. He advised Emperor Zeno in his effort to unite Eastern Church by a Chalcedonian formula (Heniticon) that was rejected by Rome and caused Acacian Schism.

7- Achaicus

Achaicus was the name of a member of the Church of Corinth. He was with Stephanas and Fortunatus when they visited St. Paul at Ephesus and "refreshed his spirit".

8- Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve, according to the Bible, were the first man and woman, progenitors of the human race. The biblical account of the creation of human beings occurs twice. In the first account, the Hebrew common noun adam is used as a generic term for all human beings, regardless of gender; Eve is not mentioned at all. In the second account, Adam is created from the dust of the earth, whereas Eve is created from Adam's rib and given to him by God to be his wife.

9- Adonai

Adonai was the God of the Israelites, his name having been revealed to Moses as four Hebrew Consonants (YHWH), the Tetragrammaton. After the exile in the 6TH CENTURY BC, and especially from the 3rd century BC on, Jews ceased to use the name Yahweh. As Judaism became a universal religion the more common noun Elohim, meaning "god," tended to replace Yahweh. At the same time, the divine name was increasingly regarded as too sacred to be uttered; it was thus replaced vocally in the synagogue ritual by the Hebrew word Adonai ("My Lord"), which was translated as Kyrios ("Lord") in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament. The Masoretes, who from about the 6th to the 10th century worked to reproduce the original text of the Hebrew Bible, replaced the vowels of the name YHWH with the vowel signs of the Hebrew words Adonai or Elohim. Thus, the artificial name Jehovah (YeHoWaH) came into being. Other Greek transcriptions also indicated that YHWH should be pronounced Yahweh.

10- Adonis

The main Syrian God, the equivalent of Osiris in Egypt, Dionysus in Greece, Atis in Asia Minor, Marduk in Mesopotamia, Mithras in Persia and Baal in the region around Judea.

11- Aeschylus

Aeschylus was born in 525/524 BC and died in 456/455 BC in Gela, Sicily. He was the first of classical Athens' great tragic dramatists, who brought that emerging art to great heights of poetry and theatrical power.

12- Aesculapius (or Asclepius)

Aesculapius, in Greek Asklepios, was the "blameless physician", the son of Apollo and Coronis. He learned the healing art from Chiron and was killed by Zeus for restoring Hippolytus to life. His daughter Hygieia personified health.

13- Agabus

Agabus was a Christian prophet of Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament and an Elder of the Christian Jerusalem Church; he predicted a famine in the entire civilised world that resulted in the sending of alms from Antioch to Jerusalem. The famine arrived during Claudius' reign. He also predicted St. Paul imprisonment.

14- Agricola, Gnaeus Julius

Agricola was born June 13, AD 40 at Forum Julii, Gallia Narbonensis and he died August 23, 93. He was a Roman general whose son-in-law, the historian Tacitus, wrote his biography. He was military tribune under Suetonius Paulinus, governor in Britain (59-61), quaestor in Asia (64), people's tribune (66), and praetor (68). In the civil war of 69 he took the side of Vespasian, who appointed him to a command in Britain. He was granted patrician status upon his return to Rome in 73 and served as governor of Aquitania (74-77). Appointed consul in 77, he was made governor of Britain. Agricola was in Britain from 77/78 to 84. After conquering portions of Wales, including the island of Mona (now Anglesey), he completed the conquest of northern England. By the end of the third campaign, he had advanced into Scotland, establishing a temporary frontier of posts between the firths of the Clota and Bodotria (Clyde and Forth) rivers. The Romans crossed the Forth in 83 and defeated the Caledonians in a battle at Mons Graupius. Agricola's permanent occupation of Scotland reached the fringe of the highlands, where he blocked the main passes with forts and placed a legionary fortress at Inchtuthil (near Dunkeld in Perthshire). Recalled to Rome after his victory, the general lived in retirement, refusing the pro-consulship of Asia.

15- Agrippa

Agrippa lived in the 2nd century AD. An ancient Greek philosophical sceptic, he described the five tropes, or grounds for the suspension of judgment:

- There is a clash of opinions, both in daily life and in the debates of philosophers;

- Nothing is self-evident, because that which is called a proof is merely a second proposition itself in need of demonstration, and so on ad infinitum;

- Both perception and judgment are relative in a double sense: each is relative to a subject, and each is affected by concomitant perceptions;

- Dogmatic philosophers seeking to avoid the infinite regression merely offer hypotheses that they cannot prove;

- Philosophers are caught in the double bind by trying to prove the sensible by the intelligible and the intelligible by the sensible.

Doubting both the evidence of the senses and the possibility of understanding, Agrippa concluded that human beings have no starting point for obtaining knowledge.

16- Agrippa of Nettesheim

Agrippa of Nettesheim was born on September 14, 1486 at Cologne and he died on February 18, 1535 at Grenoble, France. He was a court secretary to Charles V, physician to Louise of Savoy, and a military entrepreneur in Spain and Italy. He was known as an opponent of the Catholic Church, an acknowledged expert on occultism, and a philosopher. He also was a teacher at Dôle and Pavia universities, an orator and public advocate at Metz (until denounced for defending an accused witch); he was banished from Germany in 1535, and imprisoned in France for criticizing the Queen Mother. Agrippa's De occulta philosophia was a study of magic. In this book he described the world in terms of cabalistic analyses of Hebrew letters and Pythagorean numerology, and proposed magic as the best means to know God and nature. About 1530 Agrippa published an attack on occultism and all other sciences ("Of the Vanitie and uncertainties of arts and sciences"). Agrippa was jailed and branded as a heretic. After renouncing science, he found peace in biblical piety.

17- Ahriman

Avestan Angra Mainyu ("Destructive Spirit"), the evil spirit in the dualistic doctrine of Zoroastrianism. His nature is defined by the word Druj, "the Lie." The Lie expresses itself as greed, wrath, and envy. To help him defeat the light (the good creation of Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord), Ahriman created demons but believers expect Ahriman to be defeated in the end of time by Ahura Mazda.

18- Ahura Mazda

Ahura Mazda is the supreme creator god in Zoroastrianism, the religion of Persia before the establishment of Islam in the 7th century. The term Ahura originally referred to 33 gods in ancient, pre-Zoroastrian religions in Persia and India. Zoroaster, the prophet founder of Zoroastrianism, preached against all the other gods except Ahura Mazda, who, he said, should be worshipped eternally. Ahura Mazda means "Lord Wisdom" in the ancient Avestan language of Persia. In Zoroaster's teachings, Ahura Mazda is described as a benevolent, wise creator while Angra Mainya is a demon that intended to destroy the earth and its inhabitants.

Ahura Mazda has no physical form, but Zoroastrians worship him through his attributes, or Amesha-Spentas (Holy Immortals). The Amesha-Spentas reflects the different aspects of the divine nature of Ahura Mazda. These aspects are Creative Spirit, Righteousness, Good Purpose, Devotion, Power, Health, and Long Life. Some are considered male, others female. Some scholars compare the Amesha-Spentas with the archangels of Christianity.

Ahura Mazda is symbolised by fire, which is considered the most holy substance by Zoroastrians since it represents divine emanation. Because fire symbolises Ahura Mazda's power, presence, and purity, it must never be extinguished in fire temples. A hereditary male priesthood who knew the required prayers and performed the ritual duties maintains these sacred fires.

Ahura Mazda was first officially worshipped as an all-powerful god by the Persian king Darius I (about 521/486 BC). Worship of Ahura Mazda continues today primarily in India in the vicinity of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) among Parsis, Zoroastrians who migrated from Iran to India in the 10th century. Zoroastrian communities also survive in Iran.

19- Akiba ben Joseph

Akiba ben Joseph was a well-known rabbi (50-135 AD) who played an important part in Jewish life after the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 AD. He is thought to be the real father of the Talmud.

20- Alexander

Alexander was a Gnostic mentioned by Clement of Alexandria. He was a follower of Prodicus, who led a Gnostic sect called "the Sons of the first God". Alexander wrote "On the pythagorian Symbols" that says that Pythagoras was a pupil of "Nazaratus the Assyrian".

21- Alexander of Lycopolis

Alexander of Lycopolis was a Platonist philosopher of the end of the 3d century AD and the beginning of the 4th. He taught that Manichaeism destroys the basis of perceptions as well as knowledge, both necessary to Christianity and Platonism. It is not certain if he was a Christian even if some traces say that he was the Bishop of Lycopolis.

22- Alexander III the Great of Macedonia

Alexander III (356-323 BC) was the son of Philip II and Olympias of Epirus. He had Aristotle as a tutor. He became king in 336 BC and two years later invaded the Persian Empire.

23- Aleyin

In Canaanite mythology, Mot kills his brother Aleyin, the Son of God. Aleyin resurrects and kills Mot.

24- Allah

Allah is the God of the Muslims.

25- Ambrose

Ambrose was born in AD 339 at Augusta Treverorum, Belgica, Gaul and he died in 397 at Milan. As bishop of Milan he was a biblical critic, and initiator of ideas became the base for medieval conceptions of church-state relations. His literary works were masterpieces of Latin eloquence, and his musical accomplishments are remembered in his hymns. Ambrose was the teacher who converted and baptized St. Augustine of Hippo, the great Christian theologian, and as a model bishop who viewed the church as rising above the ruins of the Roman Empire. Ambrose, the second son of the prefect (imperial viceroy) of Gaul, was born at Augusta Treverorum (Trier) but his father died soon afterward and Ambrose was taken to Rome. He became governor of Aemilia-Liguria in about 370 and became bishop of Milan in 374. Ambrose was chosen as a compromise candidate to avoid a disputed election; he changed from an anabaptised layman to a bishop in eight days. As bishop of Milan he was able to dominate the cultural and political life of his age.

26- Amesha Spenta

Amesha Spenta means the "beneficent immortal" or "Immortal Bounteous One". In Zoroastrianism it meant any of the six divine beings or archangels - three males, three females- created by Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, to govern creation. They fight against the evil spirit, Ahriman. They are shown around Ahura Mazda on golden thrones attended by angels. They are the everlasting bestowers of good. Each has a special month, festival, and flower and presides over an element in the world order. Asha Vahishta is the lawful order of the cosmos according to which all things happen. He presides over fire, sacred to the Zoroastrians as the inner nature of reality. To the devotee he holds out the path of justice and spiritual knowledge. Vohu Manah is the spirit of divine wisdom, illumination, and love. He guided Zoroaster's soul before the throne of heaven. He welcomes the souls of the blessed in paradise. Believers are enjoined to "bring down Vohu Manah in your lives on Earth". He presides over domestic animals. Khshathra Vairya, who presides over metal, is the power of Ahura Mazda's kingdom. The believer can realize this power in action guided by Excellent Order and Good Mind. Spenta Armaiti, the spirit of devotion and faith, guides and protects the believer. She presides over Earth. Haurvatat and Ameretat are often mentioned together as sisters. They preside over water and plants and may come to the believer as a reward for participation in the natures of the other amesha spentas.

27- Ammianus Marcellinus

Ammianus Marcellinus was born around 330 in Antioch, Syria and he died in 395 at Rome. He was the last major Roman historian whose work continued the history of the later Roman Empire to 378. Born of a noble Greek family, Ammianus served in the army of Constantius II in Gaul and Persia. He fought against the Persians under Julian the Apostate and took part in the retreat of his successor, Jovian. Leaving the army, he travelled to Egypt and Greece, eventually settling in Rome. There he wrote his Latin history of the Roman Empire from the accession of Nerva to the death of Valens, thus continuing the work of Tacitus. This history, Rerum gestarum libri ("The Chronicles of Events"), consisted of 31 books, of which only the last 18, covering the years 353-378, survive. It is a clear and comprehensive account of events by a writer of independent judgment. Ammianus gave vivid pictures of the empire's economic and social problems. He was a pagan who was religiously tolerant. His judgment in political affairs was limited only by his own straightforward attitude.

28- Ammonius Saccas (or Ammon)

Ammonius Saccas (or Saccus) was a 3d century AD Pagan philosopher of Alexandria, the teacher of Origen and Plotinus.

Neoplatonism began with Ammonius Saccas (first half of the 3rd century AD), who had been brought up as a Christian but had abandoned his religion for the study of Plato. He developed his own kind of Platonic philosophy blended with that of Aristotle. Because he wrote nothing, his philosophy is only known through the Enneads, a collection of Plotinus' writings arranged by Porphyry.

A friend, who understood what Plotinus wanted, took him to hear the self-taught philosopher Ammonius "Saccas." When he had heard Ammonius speak, Plotinus said, "This is the man I was looking for," and stayed with him for 11 years. Ammonius is the most mysterious figure in the history of ancient philosophy. He was a lapsed Christian (but this is not quite certain) who became a fairly commonplace sort of traditional Platonism. However a man who could attract such devotion from Plotinus and who may also have been the philosophical master of the great Christian theologian Origen (according to Porphyry), must have had something more to offer his pupils, but what it was is not known.

29- Amos

Amos, a herdsman, was the earliest Prophet whose sayings are in the Bible; he lived in the 8th century BC. Amos wrote a book included in the Old Testament noted for its pastoral imagery and poetic language. It is one of 12 books known as the Minor Prophets.

Amos held God to be the God of all people rather than the exclusive God of the Jews. God demanded and expected more from the Jews because of their covenant with him. They were not entitled, according to Amos, to God's special favour; rather, they bore responsibility for showing exemplary obedience to his law. Amos was especially concerned with the oppression of the poor by the rich and with immoral religious practices. He stressed the personal responsibility of each individual before God and prophesied that Israel would be destroyed if the people did not turn from their corrupt ways.

30- Amphilochius

Amphilochius (circa 542-395) studied under Libanius at Antioch and taught at Constantinople. He became bishop of Iconium, province of Lycaonia, in 374.

31- Anacletus, Saint

Anacletus (also called Cletus, or Anencletus) was the second pope (76-88 or 79-91) after St. Peter. According to St. Epiphanius and the priest Tyrannius Rufinus, he directed the Roman Church with St. Linus, successor to St. Peter, during Peter's lifetime. He died, probably a martyr, during the reign of Domitian.

32- Anahiti (Anahita)

Anahiti, also called Anahita, is an ancient Iranian goddess of royalty, war, and, mainly, fertility. Possibly of Mesopotamian origin, Artaxerxes II made her cult prominent; statues and temples were set up in her honour throughout the Persian Empire. Her cult persisted in Asia Minor for a long period. In the Avesta she is called Ardvi Sura Anahita ("Damp, Strong, Untainted"). In Greece Anahiti was identified with Athena and Artemis.

33- Anat

Anat, also spelled Anath, was a Canaanite fertility goddess and a Semitic goddess of love and war, the sister and helpmate of the god Baal. Probably one of the best known of the Canaanite deities, she was famous for her youthful vigor and ferocity in battle; she was a special favorite of the Egyptian king Ramses II. Anat was often associated with the god Resheph in ritual texts, but she was better known for her role in the myth of Baal's death and resurrection, in which she mourned and searched for him and finally helped to retrieve him from the netherworld. During the Hellenistic Age, the goddesses Anat and Astarte were blended into one deity, Atargatis.

34- Anat Jahu

See Asherah.

35- Anaxagoras

Anaxagoras was born about 503 BC at Clazomenae, Anatolia [now in Turkey] and he died about 428 at Lampsacus. He was a Pagan Greek philosopher of nature remembered for his cosmology and for his discovery of the true cause of eclipses. About 480 Anaxagoras moved to Athens. After 30 years in Athens, he was accused of impiety for saying that the Sun is an incandescent stone somewhat larger than the region of the Peloponnese. The attack was an indirect blow at Pericles who managed to save him but he had to leave Athens for Lampsacus where he died. Only a few fragments of Anaxagoras' writings have been preserved. The most original aspect of Anaxagoras' system was his doctrine of nous ("mind," or "reason"). The cosmos was formed by mind in two stages: first, by a revolving and mixing process that still continues; and, second, by the development of living things. In the first, all of "the dark" came together to form the night; "the fluid" came together to form the oceans, and so on with other elements. The same process of attraction of "like to like" occurred in the second stage, when flesh and other elements were brought together by mind in large amounts. The growth of living things, according to Anaxagoras, depends on the power of mind within the organisms that enables them to extract nourishment from surrounding substances.

36- Andrew (Saint)

Andrew was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus, the brother of Simon Peter and a native of Bethsaida. He was first a follower of John the Baptist. He died a martyr at Patras, Achaia, in 60AD.

37- Angra Mainyu

Angra Mainyu, according to the Avesta, is the "enemy Spirit". In the Gathas, Zoroaster contrasts him with "Spenta Mainyu", the "Holy Spirit". They are the two opposite principles of Evil and Good that struggle forever for the mastery of the universe.

38- Anicetus (Saint)

Anicetus, possibly a Syrian, died in Rome; he was pope from about 155 to 166. He fought the heresies of Valentine and Marcion and all the Gnostics. St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, visited him in Rome (c. 154/155) to talk about the controversy over the date of Easter. He allowed Polycarp to celebrate the Eucharist in his church on the Eastern date.

39- Anne and Joachim (Saints)

According to a tradition derived from certain apocryphal writings, Anne and Joachim were the parents of the Virgin Mary. Information concerning their lives and names is found in the 2nd-century AD Protevangelium of James ("First Gospel of James") and the 3rd-century AD Evangelium de nativitate Mariae ("Gospel of the Nativity of Mary"). According to these sources, Anne (Hebrew: Hannah) was born in Bethlehem, Judaea and she married Joachim. They lamented their childlessness. Both received the vision of an angel, who announced that Anne would conceive and bear a most wondrous child. The couple rejoiced at the birth of their daughter, whom Anne named Mary. When the child was three years old, Joachim and Anne brought Mary to the Temple at Jerusalem, where they left her to be brought up. According to later legends, Joachim died shortly after Mary's birth, and Anne, encouraged by the Holy Spirit, remarried. Anne's cult was fervent in the Eastern Church as early as the 4th century, and in the early 8th century Pope Constantine introduced her devotion to Rome. Joachim's cult was introduced to the West in the 15th century. Many churches, the first dating from the 6th century, were built in Anne's honour. Anne's cult became extremely popular in the Middle Ages. Martin Luther and others vehemently attacked the cult of Anne, which was then promoted by post-Reformation popes.

40- Anthony of Egypt (Saint)

Anthony was born around 251 at Koma, near al-Minya, Heptanomis, Egypt and he died January 17, 356 at Dayr Mari Antonios hermitage, near the Red Sea. He was a religious hermit and one of the earliest monks; he is considered to be the founder and father of organized Christian monasticism. A disciple of Paul of Thebes, Anthony began to practice an ascetic life at the age of 20 and after 15 years withdrew for absolute solitude to a mountain by the Nile called Pispir, where he lived from about 286 to 305. During the course of this retreat, he began his legendary combat against the devil, withstanding a series of temptations famous in Christian theology and iconography. In about 305 he emerged from his retreat to organize the monastic life of the hermits who wanted to follow his example. After the Edict of Milan (313), he moved to a mountain between the Nile and the Red Sea, where the monastery Dayr Mari Antonios still stands. He went twice to Alexandria, the last time (c. 350) to preach against Arianism. The monks who followed Anthony into the desert considered themselves part God's army, and, by fasting and performing other ascetic practices, they tried to reach the same state of spiritual purity and freedom from temptation as Anthony did. According to St. Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, the devil's assault on Anthony took the form of visions, seductive or horrible. Every vision conjured up by Satan was repelled by Anthony's fervid prayer and penitential acts. From these psychic struggles Anthony emerged as the sane and sensible father of Christian monasticism. His rule was compiled from writings and discourses attributed to him in the Life of St. Anthony (by Athanasius) and the Apophthegmata patrum and were still observed in the 20th century by a number of Coptic and Armenian monks.

41- Antiphon

Antiphon was a Pagan philosopher who wrote about 430 BC. He was a Sophist and a radical egalitarian who challenged the Athenian status quo. As an orator and statesman he is the earliest Athenian professional rhetorician. He was a writer of speeches for other men to deliver in their defense in court, a function that was particularly useful in Athens at that time. As a politician Antiphon was the prime mover in the anti-democratic revolution of the Four Hundred, an oligarchic council set up in 411 BC in an attempt to seize the Athenian government in the midst of war. He was reluctant to put himself forward in public debate because he realized that his reputation for cleverness made him unpopular with the people. But when the regime of the Four Hundred fell, he defended himself in a speech described as the greatest ever made by a man on trial for his life. Nevertheless, the defense was unsuccessful and Antiphon was executed for treason.

42- Apelles

Apelles was a disciple of Marcion who studied Gnosticism probably in Alexandria. He was a follower of the Greek philosophers. He founded a community in Rome and wrote two books that are lost: Syllogisms in which he shows the untruths of the Books of Moses and the Revelations of the Prophetess Philumene.

43- Aphraates

Aphrahat lived in the 4th century. He was a Syrian ascetic and the earliest-known Christian writer of the Syriac church in Persia. Aphraates became a convert to Christianity during the reign of the anti-Christian Persian king Shapur II (309-379), after which he led a monastic life, possibly at the Monastery of St. Matthew near Mosul, Iraq. Later he may have become a bishop when he assumed the name James. Termed "the Persian Sage," Aphraates between the years 336 and 345 composed Syriac biblical commentaries (23 of which have been preserved) for his monastic colleagues. They are inaccurately known as his "Homilies," and they survey the Christian faith predominantly in theological, ascetical, and disciplinary matters, at times marked by a sharp polemical nature. Nine treatises against the Jews, who were numerous in Mesopotamia and had established outstanding schools, are particularly acrimonious; they treat of Easter, circumcision, dietary laws, the supplanting of Israel by Gentiles as the new chosen people, and Jesus' divine sonship.

44- Aphrodite

The main Syrian Goddess, the equivalent of Isis in Egypt, Persephone in Greece, Cybele in Asia Minor, Ishtar in Mesopotamia, Magna Mater in Persia and Asherad in the region around Judea.

45- Apollinaris

Apollinaris Claudius was the bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia from about 170 to 180 AD. He was a Christian leader who preached against the Quatordecimans and the Montanists.

46- Apollinaris (Apollinarius) the Younger

Apollinaris (Latin Apollinarius, 310/390 AD) was the bishop of Laodicea who developed the heretical position concerning the nature of Christ called Apollinarianism. Excommunicated from the church for his views, Apollinaris was readmitted but in 346 excommunicated a second time. Nevertheless the Nicene congregation at Laodicea chose him as bishop (c. 361). Skilled in logic and Hebrew and a teacher of rhetoric, Apollinaris also lectured at Antioch c. 374.

47- Apollo

In Greek religion Apollo (Phoebus), was a deity with many functions and meanings. He was the god of divine distance, who sent or threatened from afar; the god who made men aware of their own guilt and purified them of it; who presided over religious law and the constitutions of cities; who communicated to man through prophets and oracles his knowledge of the future and the will of his father, Zeus. Even the gods feared him, and only his father and his mother, Leto, could endure his presence. Distance, death, terror, and awe were summed up in his symbolic bow; a gentler side of his nature was shown in his lyre, which proclaimed the joy of communion with Olympus (the home of the gods) through music, poetry, and dance. He was also a god of crops and herds. His forename Phoebus means "bright" or "pure," and the view became current that he was connected with the sun. Among Apollo's other epithets was Nomios (Herdsman). He was also called Lyceius because he protected the herds from wolves; because herdsmen and shepherds were fond of music, scholars have argued that this was Apollo's original role. Though the most Hellenic of all gods, Apollo apparently was of foreign origin. Traditionally, Apollo and his twin, Artemis, were born on the isle of Delos. From there Apollo went to Pytho (Delphi), where he slew Python, the dragon that guarded the area. He established his oracle by taking on the guise of a dolphin. Thus Pytho was renamed Delphi after the dolphin (delphis). Apollo had many unfortunate love affairs: Daphne, in her efforts to escape him, was changed into a laurel, his sacred shrub; Coronis (mother of Asclepius) was shot by Apollo's twin, Artemis, since unfaithful; and Cassandra (daughter of King Priam of Troy) rejected his advances and was punished by being made to utter true prophecies that no one believed. In Italy Apollo was introduced at an early date and was primarily concerned, as in Greece, with healing and prophecy.

48- Apollonius of Tyana

Apollonius of Tyana was a 1st century AD Neo-Pythagorean who became a mythical hero during the time of the Roman Empire. Empress Julia Domna asked Philostratus to write a biography of Apollonius; her motive for doing was probably her desire to counteract the influence of Christianity on Roman civilization. The biography portrays a figure much like Christ in temperament and power and claims that Apollonius performed certain miracles. It is believed that most of the biography is based more on fiction than fact.

49- Apuleius, Lucius

Apuleius was born about 124 AD at Madauros, Numidia (near modern Mdaourouch, Algeria) and he died probably about 190. He was a Pagan Platonic philosopher, rhetorician, and author remembered for The Golden Ass, a prose narrative. The work, called Metamorphoses by its author, narrates the adventures of a young man changed by magic into an ass. The Golden Ass is particularly valuable for its description of the ancient religious mysteries, and Lucius' restoration from animal to human shape, with the aid of Isis, and his acceptance into her priesthood suggests that Apuleius himself had been initiated into that cult. Apuleius, who was educated at Carthage and Athens, travelled in the Mediterranean region and became interested in contemporary religious initiation rites, among them the ceremonies associated with worship of the Egyptian goddess Isis. Intellectually versatile and acquainted with works of both Latin and Greek writers, he taught rhetoric in Rome before returning to Africa to marry a rich widow, Aemilia Pudentilla. He wrote the Apologia ("Defence"), the major source for his biography. More influential than this collection of the author's declamations on various subjects are his philosophical treatises. He wrote three books on Plato (the third is lost): De Platone et eius dogmate ("On Plato and His Teaching") and De Deo Socratis ("On the God of Socrates"), which expounds the Platonic notion of demons, beneficent creatures intermediate between gods and mortals. Apuleius asserts that he wrote a number of poems and works on natural history, but these works are lost.

50- Aratus of Macedonia

Aratus lived from about 315 to 245 BC in Macedonia. He was a Greek poet of Soli in Cilicia best remembered for his poem on astronomy, Phaenomena. The Phaenomena, a didactic poem in hexameters, is his only completely extant work. Lines 1-757 versify a prose work on astronomy by Eudoxus of Cnidus (c. 390-c. 340), while lines 758-1154 treat of weather signs and show much likeness to Pseudo-Theophrastus' De signis tempestatum.

50bis - Aratus

Aratus was an old Pagan sage of Tarsus quoted by Paul.

51- Ariadne

Ariadne was the wife of Dionysus. At their wedding Dionysus turned water into wine.

52- Aristeas of Prokonnesos

Aristeas of Prokonnesos was a wonder-worker of around the 7th century BC. He was supposed to have the gift of constant ecstasy and bi-location.

53- Aristides

Aristides lived in the 2nd century. He was an Athenian philosopher and one of the earliest Christian Apologists. His Apology for the Christian Faith is one of the oldest extant Apologist documents. Known primarily through a reference by the 4th-century historian Eusebius of Caesarea. A primitive, general apology, Aristides' simple argument was the forerunner of the more personal and literary apologies in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries, such as those produced by Athenagoras and Tertullian. In the perspective of a pagan philosopher, Aristides' Apology begins with a discussion of the harmony in creation and, in the manner of the Stoic philosophers, establishes a correlation with the Divine Being responsible for the creation and preservation of the universe. Aristides reasons that such a Being would need to be eternal, perfect, immortal, all-knowing, the Father of mankind, and sufficient to himself.

53bis - Aristo (Ariston) of Chios

Aristo (or Ariston) who lived in the 3rd century BC was a Greek philosopher who studied under Zeno, the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy. Aristo combined Stoic and Cynic ideas in shaping his own beliefs. Aristo believed that the only topic of genuine value in philosophy is the study of ethics and went even further in claiming that only general and theoretical issues are worth discussing in ethics and that there is only one true virtue in life that is an intelligent, healthy state of mind.

54- Aristo of Pella

Aristo of Pella (2d century AD) was the author of the lost work known as "Dialogue of Papiscus with Jason" on the Jewish-Christian debate. He probably belonged to the Jewish-Christian Church that moved across the Jordan before the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD.

55- Aristobulus of Paneas

Aristobulus of Paneas was a Jewish philosopher (around 3d-2d century BC). Like his successor, Philo, he tried to reconcile Jewish religion and Greek philosophy using allegory based on the belief that the Old Testament was the source of most Greek philosophy. Aristobulus lived at Alexandria in Egypt, under the Ptolemies. According to some Christian church fathers, he was a Peripatetic, but he also used Platonic and Pythagorean concepts. The Stoic technique of allegorising the Greek myth served as a model for Aristobulus' writings, and for him the Old Testament God became an allegorical figure. He wanted to prove that Greek culture was overshadowed and heavily influenced by Judaism.

56- Aristobulus I

Aristobulus I was also called Judas Aristobulus; he died 103 BC. He was the Hasmonean (Maccabean) Hellenised king of Judaea from 104 to 103 BC. The son of Hyrcanus I, he broke his late father's will and seized the throne from his mother and jailed or killed his brothers. According to the historian Josephus, Aristobulus conquered the Ituraeans of Lebanon and forcibly converted them to Judaism. He was the first of his house to adopt the title of king (basileus).

57- Aristobulus II

Aristobulus II who died in 49 BC was the last of the Hasmonean (Maccabean) kings of Judaea. He came to the throne on the death (67 BC) of his mother, Salome Alexandra, defeating his brother and rival, John Hyrcanus II. Hyrcanus sought help from the Nabataeans and the Romans under Pompey intervened and subjected Judaea to their rule (63 BC). After an unsuccessful attempt to regain power in 56, Aristobulus was sent to Rome as a prisoner and remained there until his death.

58- Aristophanes

Aristophanes was born about 450 BC and he died about 388. He was the greatest representative of ancient Greek comedy and the one whose works have been preserved in greatest quantity. He is the only extant representative of the Old Comedy. Aristophanes belonged to the end of this phase, and his last extant play is seen as the only extant specimen of the short-lived Middle Comedy. He was initiated in the Mysteries. He was accused of revealing too much of the Mystery doctrines in his plays.

59- Aristotle

Aristotle was born in 384 BC at Stagira, Chalcidice and died in 322 at Chalcis, Euboea. Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and scientist. He was the author of a philosophical and scientific system that through the centuries became the support for both medieval Christian and Islamic scholastic thought. Aristotle's intellectual range was vast, covering most of the sciences and many of the arts. He worked in physics, chemistry, biology, zoology, and botany; in psychology, political theory, and ethics; in logic and metaphysics; in history, literary theory, and rhetoric. His greatest achievements were in two unrelated areas. He invented the study of formal logic (Aristotelian syllogistic) and he pioneered the study of zoology, both observational and theoretical. As a philosopher Aristotle is equally outstanding. Although his syllogistic is now recognized to be only a small part of formal logic, his writings in ethical and political theory as well as in metaphysics and in the philosophy of science are read and argued over by modern philosophers.

60- Arius

Arius was a native of Libya, (about 256/336 AD). He studied at the theological school of Lucian of Antioch, where, later on, other supporters of the Arian heresy would also be trained. After he was ordained a priest in Alexandria, in 319, Arius became involved in a controversy with his bishop concerning the divinity of Christ. Arius challenged the doctrine that the three Persons of the Christian Trinity -the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit- were equal. Arius taught that God the Father ranks above the Son, who is Jesus Christ, and that both rank higher than the Holy Spirit. He founded an early Christian theological sect called Arianism. In about 318, Bishop Alexander of Alexandria condemned Arius's teachings as heresy and excommunicated him. But Arius continued to teach and attracted many followers. In 325 Arius finally was exiled to Illyria because of his beliefs. Emperor Theodosius I in 379 outlawed his doctrine throughout the Roman Empire, but it survived for two centuries longer among the barbarian tribes that had been converted to Christianity by Arian bishops.

61- Arnobius of Sicca (also known as the Elder)

Arnobius was a 4th century African early Christian who defended Christianity by demonstrating to the pagans their errors. Arnobius was born a pagan but had become a Christian by AD 300. He taught rhetoric at Sicca Veneria in Africa. Because of his former paganism, Arnobius was suspected, notably by the local bishop, and as a pledge of his conviction he composed the seven books Adversus nationes (c. 303; "Against the Pagans").

62- Arnaud- Amaury

The commanding papal legate who ordered Simon de Montford's soldiers to kill all the inhabitants of Béziers, France, Cathars and Christians alike during the Albigensian Crusades of the 12th century AD. He apparently said: "Kill them all, for God will know his own".

63- Artapanos

Artapanos was a 2d century BC Jewish writer who taught that famous Jews like Abraham, Joseph and Moses were the tutors of the Gentiles in astronomy, agriculture, technology philosophy and the worship of God.

64- Artemis

Artemis was the name of the Greek goddess of the wild, the hunt, fertility and childbearing.

65- Asclepius

Asclepius was a Greco-Roman god of medicine, son of Apollo (god of healing, truth, and prophecy) and the nymph Coronis. The Centaur Chiron taught him the art of healing. Zeus, afraid that Asclepius might render all men immortal, slew him with a thunderbolt. Asclepius was frequently represented with his usual attribute, a staff with a serpent coiled around it, the symbol of medicine.

66- Asher

Asher was the 8th son of Jacob by Leah's maid, Zilpah, and named by Leah "Happy". One of the twelve Hebrew tribes descended from him.

67- Asherah

At one time the Israelites had worshipped Asherad as the wife of the Jewish God, Jehovah. In the 5th century BC she was known as Anat Jahu.

68- Asterius the Sophist

Asterius the Sophist (died after 341AD) was the pupil of Lucian of Antioch who became a leader of the Arian movement. His work, "Syntagmation" survives only in quotations by his opponents Athanasius and Marcellus of Ancyra. He was an extreme Arian calling Christ a creature.

69- Athanasius, Saint

St. Athanasius (circa 293/373) was a Christian theologian, bishop, and Doctor of the Church, who championed the cause of orthodoxy in the 4th-century struggle against Arianism. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Athanasius received a classical education before entering the famous theological school of his native city. He was ordained a deacon as a young man and served as secretary to the bishop of Alexandria. It was then that he began to take a prominent position in the great theological struggle that culminated in the Council of Nicaea in 325. At Nicaea, Athanasius opposed Arius, the Alexandrian priest who advanced the doctrine known as Arianism; his life is intimately connected with the progress of the Arian controversy, and he was by far the most formidable antagonist encountered by that heresy. Athanasius formulated the Homoousian doctrine, according to which the Son of God is of the same essence, or substance, as the Father. Athanasius became bishop of Alexandria around 328. During the Arian controversy, politics mingled with theology, and each side laboured to win the favour of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. The Arian Party was both influential and very active at the imperial court. Athanasius was exiled five times; more than one-third of his episcopate was spent away from his see. His fifth and final exile lasted only four months and ended in 364. He spent the rest of his life in quiet labour at his post in Alexandria. The theological battle was practically over, and the victory rested with the cause of Nicene orthodoxy.

70- Athena

In Greek religion, Athena or Athene, was protecting the city, the goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason; the Romans identified her with Minerva. She was urban and civilized, the opposite of Artemis, goddess of the outdoors. Athena was probably a pre-Hellenic goddess taken over by the Greeks. Athena became a goddess of war. She was thought to have had neither consort nor offspring. As a war goddess Athena could not be dominated by other goddesses, such as Aphrodite, and as a palace goddess she could not be violated. The qualities that led to victory were found on the aegis, or breastplate, that Athena wore when she went to war: fear, strife, defence, and assault. Athena became the goddess of good counsel, of prudent restraint and practical insight, as well as of war. She was widely worshiped, but in modern times she is associated primarily with Athens, to which she gave her name. As city goddess, Athena Polias ("Athena, Guardian of the City"), led the ancient city-state's transition from monarchy to democracy. She was associated with birds, particularly the owl, which became famous as the city's symbol, and with the snake. Her birth and her contest with Poseidon, the sea god, for the suzerainty of the city were represented on the pediments of the Parthenon. Athena became the goddess of crafts and skilled peacetime pursuits in general. She was particularly known as the patroness of spinning and weaving. She became allegorised to personify wisdom and righteousness, a natural development of her patronage of skill.

71- Athenagoras of Athens

Athenagoras is described as a literalist Christian philosopher of the second century. In fact he was not a literalist at all but he taught a philosophical Christianity based on the mythical figures of the Logos and Sophia. He was not interested in Jesus and never mentions him. The literalists adopted him because there was no Christian philosopher at that time.

72- Attis

Attis (or ATYS) is the mythical husband of the Great Mother of the Gods (Cybele, or Agdistis); he was worshipped in Phrygia, Asia Minor, and in the Roman Empire, where he was made a solar deity in the 2nd century AD. The worship of Attis and the Great Mother included the annual celebration of mysteries on the return of the spring season. According to the Phrygian tale, Attis was a beautiful youth born of Nana, the daughter of the river Sangarius, and the hermaphroditic Agdistis. Having become enamoured of Attis, Agdistis struck him as he was to be married, with the result that Attis castrated himself and died. Agdistis asked Zeus to grant that the body of the youth should never decay. Attis was a vegetation god, and in his self-mutilation, death, and resurrection he represents the fruits of the earth, which die in winter only to rise again in the spring.

73- Augustine (Saint) - also Augustine of Hippo

Augustine (354-430 AD) was born in Tagaste, a small Roman community in Africa. For eight years he was a follower of the Manichaean Gnostics before becoming a Neoplatonist in 386; four years later he was converted to Literalist Christianity. Augustine studied first in Tagaste, then in the nearby university town of Madauros, and finally at Carthage. After a brief period teaching in Tagaste, he returned to Carthage to teach rhetoric. At the age of 28, restless and ambitious, Augustine left Africa in 383 for Rome. He taught briefly there before becoming an imperial professor of rhetoric at Milan but there his career ran aground. After only two years, he resigned his teaching post and made his way back to Tagaste. There he was a cultured squire, looking after his family property, raising the son, Adeodatus, left him by a long-term lover, and continuing his literary pastimes. After the death of that young son he disposed of all his properties.

Augustine chose to associate himself with the "official" branch of Christianity. Augustine's literary and intellectual abilities set him apart from his African contemporaries. Made a "presbyter" (roughly, a priest) at Hippo in 391, Augustine became bishop there in 395 or 396 and spent the rest of his life in that office. He would travel to Carthage for several months of the year to pursue ecclesiastical business. He wrote book after book attacking Manichaeism, the Christian sect he had joined in his late teens and left 10 years later. From the 390s to the 410s, he was preoccupied to make his own brand of Christianity prevail over all others in Africa. In 411 the reigning emperor sent an official representative to Carthage to settle the quarrel. A public debate attended by hundreds of bishops on each side ended with a ruling in favour of the official church. His fame notwithstanding, Augustine died a failure. Augustine's legacy in his homeland was effectively terminated with his death but he survived in his books.

74- Auxentius

Auxentius (died in 373 or 374) was Bishop of Milan from 355 to his death. He was a Cappadocian by birth and Arian in theology. Ambrose succeeded him. He wrote the Arian work "Epistola de fide, vita e obitu Wulfilae" incorporated in "Dissertatio contra Ambrosium" composed in 383 by Maximus, the Gothic and Arian opponent of Ambrose.

75- Axionicus

Axionicus was a Valentinian Gnostic of the Oriental school. He maintained that Jesus was purely spiritual and that it was Sophia who descended on Mary as the Holy Spirit.

76- Baal

The main God in the area around Judea, the equivalent of Osiris in Egypt, Dionysus in Greece, Attis in Asia Minor, Marduk in Mesopotamia, Mithras in Persia and Adonis in Syria.

77- Barabbas

Barabbas, the "Son of Abbas", was a revolutionary Jew, probably a Zealot. According to the New Testament was the prisoner, described variously as a murderer, revolutionary, and notorious bandit, who was released in the place of Jesus Christ at the time of the crucifixion. It was customary for the Roman governor of Judea to placate the Jerusalem populace by freeing a prisoner of their choice at the time of Passover. Jesus and Barabbas were the only two candidates under consideration for release by Pontius Pilate, who served as prefect of Judea from AD 26 to 36. The religious leaders incited the people to ask the release of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus. Pilate succumbed to the pressure and condemned Jesus to death. We are told nothing of Barabbas' subsequent life.

78- Barbelo

Barbelo was a mythical Christian Gnostic Goddess.

79- Bardesanes

Bardesanes was born on July 11, 154 AD at Edessa, Syria (now Urfa, Turkey] and he died around 222 at Edessa. He was a Syrian Gnostic. Bardesanes was among the first Christians in Syria and he did some missionary work after his conversion in 179. In his main book, The Dialogue of Destiny, or The Book of the Laws of the Countries, recorded by a disciple, Philip, is the oldest known original composition in Syriac literature. Bardesanes attacked the fatalism of the Greek philosophers after Aristotle (4th century BC), particularly regarding the influence of the stars on human destiny. Mixing Christian influence with Gnostic teaching, he denied the creation of the world, of Satan, and of evil by the supreme God, attributing them to a hierarchy of deities. After converting the local ruler to Gnostic Christianity Syria was a Gnostic Christian State from 202 to 217 when the Roman Emperor Caracalla destroyed it.

80- Bar Jesus

Bar Jesus was the name of a magician, a Jewish false prophet, probably an astrologer.

81- Bar Kokhba

Bar Kokhba who died in AD 135 was the Jewish leader who led the bitter unsuccessful revolt (AD 132-135) against Roman in Palestine. While visiting the Eastern Empire in 131, the Roman emperor Hadrian imposed a policy of Hyalinisation to integrate the Jews into the empire. Circumcision was proscribed, a Roman colony (Aelia) was founded in Jerusalem, and a temple to Jupiter Capitolinus was built over the ruins of the Jewish Temple. The Jews rebelled in 132 with Simeon bar Kokba at their head. He was of Davidic descent and, as such, hailed as the Messiah by the great rabbi Akiva ben Yosef, who also gave him the title Bar Kokhba ("Son of the Star"), a messianic allusion. Bar Kokhba took the title nasi ("prince") and struck his own coins, with the legend "Year 1 of the liberty of Jerusalem." According to the Roman historian Dion Cassius, the Christian sect refused to join the revolt. Hadrian himself came from Rome to visit the battlefield in 134 and summoned the governor of Britain, Gaius Julius Severus, to his aid with 35,000 men of the Xth Legion. Jerusalem was retaken, and Severus constricted the rebels' area of operation, until in 135 Bar Kokhba was killed at Betar, his stronghold in southwest Jerusalem. The remnant of the Jewish army was soon crushed; Jewish war casualties are recorded as numbering 580,000, not including those who died of hunger and disease. Judaea was desolated, the remnant of the Jewish population annihilated or exiled, and Jerusalem barred to Jews thereafter.

82- Barnabas (Saint)

Barnabas's original name was Joseph The Levite, or Joses The Levite. He was born in the first century AD. Barnabas was a Hellenised Jew who joined the Jerusalem church soon after Christ's crucifixion, sold his property for the benefit of the community; he became an Apostolic Father and an early Christian missionary. He was one of the Cypriots who founded the church in Antioch, where he preached. Paul from Tarsus joined him as his assistant; they did some missionary work together before going to Jerusalem in 48. A conflict separated them, and Barnabas sailed to Cyprus. Nothing is known about the time or circumstances of his death. His alleged martyrdom and burial in Cyprus are described in the apocryphal "Journeys and Martyrdom of Barnabas", a 5th-century forgery. Barnabas was in Alexandria, Egypt, according to some other tradition where he wrote the "Letters of Barnabas" (an exegetical treatise on the use of the Old Testament); other tradition places him in Rome and where he would have written the "Letter (or Epistle) to the Hebrews". The apocryphal "Acts of Barnabas", a work of late date, recounts his missionary tours and his death by martyrdom in Cyprus. The extant "Epistle of Barnabas" (part of the Codex Sinaiticus in a monastery at Mount Sinai, is a didactic work, full of allegorical interpretations of the Old Testament and attacks on Judaism. It was not included in the New Testament because it contains too many Gnostic ideas.

Barnabas' reputed tomb was discovered in 488 near the Monastery of St. Barnabas, in the Cypriot city of Salamis, whose Christian community was founded by Paul and Barnabas.

83- Barsumas

Barsumas (circa 420-490) was a Nestorian Bishop of Nisibis and a follower of Ibas of Edessa. Condemned with his master at the Latrocinium, he was cleared with him at Constantinople.

84- Bartholomew (Saint)

Bartholomew was one of the 12 apostles of Christ although not well known. According to tradition he was a missionary in many countries and preached the gospel in India (properly Arabia). He is traditionally said to have been flayed alive in Albanopolis, Armenia, or in India.

85- Basil of Caesarea (Saint)

Basil of Caesarea (329-379) was initially a Gnostic of the Christian Eastern Church. He taught the oral tradition of "private secret teaching" to the initiates into the Inner Mysteries of Christianity. Basil, called the Great, played a leading role during the latest part of the Arian controversy. First a hermit, he became Bishop of Caesarea in 370. He disagreed with Eunomius, the leader of Arian extremists; with the Pneumatomachi who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit; against the bishops of Rome and Alexandria because he supported Meletius against the bishops. Basil was one of the Cappadocians' Fathers with Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzum; together they continued to develop the Gnostic mystical philosophy of Origen.

86- Basilides of Alexandria

Basilides was a second century AD (circa 117-161) scholar and teacher at Alexandria; he founded a school of Gnosticism known as the Basilidians. He probably was a pupil of Menander in Antioch, and he was teaching in Alexandria at the time of the Roman emperors Hadrian and Antonius Pius. Clement of Alexandria wrote that Basilides claimed to have received a secret tradition -on which he based his gnosis, or esoteric knowledge- from Glaucias, an interpreter of the Apostle Peter or directly from the Apostle Matthias. He wrote psalms and odes, commentaries on the Gospels, as well as a "gospel" for his own sect; only fragments of these writings have been preserved.

87- Benedict of Nursia (Saint)

Benedict was born circa 480 in Nursia, Lombardy, and he died circa 547. He was educated in Rome before becoming a hermit at Subiaco and then the founder of twelve monasteries including the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino. He is considered the father of Western monasticism after he reformed monasticism and composed the rules that were to regulate the life of his monks, the Benedictines.

88- Bernard of Clairveaux (Saint)

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) was born near Dijon. In 1113 he became a monk in the Cistercian monastery of Cîteaux, and in 1115 he became abbot of a monastery at Clairvaux. Under his rule the monastery at Clairvaux became the most prominent of the Cistercian order. Reputed miracles and the eloquent preaching of Bernard attracted numerous pilgrims. Between 1130 and 1145, more than 90 monasteries were founded and Bernard's influence in the Roman Catholic Church was very high. He is reputed to have established the rule of the Order of Knights Templars, and in 1128 he obtained recognition of the order from the church. In 1146, at the command of the pope, Bernard began his preaching of the Second Crusade but its failure was a great blow to him. He was canonized in 1174 and named Doctor of the Church in 1830.

Bernard was an uncompromising opponent of heresies and of rationalistic theology. He wrote many sermons, letters, and hymns. Important among his works are De Diligendo Deo (The Love of God) and De Consideratione (Consideration to Eugene III).

89- Blake, William

Blake was born on Nov. 28, 1757 at London and he died on August 12, 1827 at London. English poet, painter, engraver, and visionary mystic whose series of lyrical and epic poems, beginning with Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794), is an original and independent work in the Western cultural tradition. He is one of the earliest and greatest figures of Romanticism. However he was ignored by the public of his day and was considered mad because of his single-mindedness and unworldly; he was poor all his life and death.

90- Böehme (or Böhme), Jakob

Böehme (1575-1624) was a theosophist and mystic, born in Altseidenberg, Germany. He was a shoemaker who had a mystical experience in 1600 that led him towards meditation on divine things. Aurora (1612) contains revelations upon God, humanity, nature, shows deep knowledge of the Scriptures, and of alchemy. It was condemned and persecuted by the ecclesiastical authorities but in 1623 he published The Great Mystery and On the Election of Grace.

91- Boethius

Boethius (circa 480-524) was a Roman Neoplatonist philosopher and statesman. In 510 was made a consul by Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths. Later he was accused of treason, and, although innocent, was imprisoned in Pavia and executed. During his imprisonment he wrote De Consolatione Philosophiae (The Consolation of Philosophy, c. 523), a philosophic work that, although written by a non-Christian, contained many elements of Christian ethics. This book helped the spirit of Gnosticism to survive during the dark age of Literalism. Boethius also wrote treatises on logic, translations and commentaries on the works of Aristotle, and works on music, arithmetic, and theology.

92- Bruno, Giordano

Bruno was born in 1548 at Nola, near Naples and he died on February 17, 1600 in Rome. His original name was Filippo Bruno, byname IL Nolano. Bruno was an Italian philosopher, astronomer, mathematician, and occultist whose theories anticipated modern science. In his theories of the infinite universe and the multiplicity of worlds, he rejected the traditional geocentric (or Earth-centred) astronomy and went beyond the Copernican heliocentric (Sun-centred) theory, which still maintained a finite universe with a sphere of fixed stars. Bruno is best remembered for his death at the stake because he had unorthodox ideas at a time when both the Roman Catholic and the Reformed churches were preaching Aristotelian and scholastic concepts.

93- Buddha

Buddha was active in the 4th century BC. His original name was Gautama but he was also called Siddhartha; he is the founder of Buddhism, the religion and philosophical system with many followers in southern and eastern Asia. Buddha, meaning "Awakened One," or "Enlightened One," is a title, not a proper name. Gautama was the son of the rulers of the kingdom of the Sakyas, and was thus a member of the warrior caste. There are various legends about his birth and upbringing. He married at the age of 16 and lived in luxury and comfort. When he was 29 he realized the inevitability of old age, sickness, and death and he became aware of the suffering implicit in existence. He did "the great renunciation": to give up the princely life and become a wandering ascetic. He departed from the palace, leaving his wife and infant son behind, and went south to the Magadha kingdom in search of teachers to instruct him in the way of truth. With two of them he attained mystical states of elevated consciousness, but still unsatisfied, he continued his search for truth. He was joined by five ascetics at a grove near Uruvela, where he practiced austerities and self-mortifications for six years. When he fainted, he abandoned ascetic practices to seek his own path to enlightenment. Soon afterward, at the age of 35, Gautama became a supreme Buddha. He decided to teach others what he had discovered about the nature of reality and the means of transcending the human condition. The Buddha spent the rest of his life spreading his teachings, making converts to the religious truths and beliefs he propounded, and training large numbers of learned followers to continue the work after his death.

94- Caecilian

Caecilian (dead circa 345) was the Bishop of Carthage over whose election the Donatist controversy started. The assembly of bishops chose him but the Numidian and Mauretanian had not been invited and they elected their own anti-bishop.

95- Cain

According to the Old Testament Cain was the first-born son of Adam and Eve, who murdered his brother Abel. Cain, a farmer, became enraged when the Lord accepted the offering of his brother Abel, a shepherd, in preference to his own. He murdered Abel and was banished by the Lord from paradise. Some biblical critics believe the tribe of Cain was the Kenites. According to Irenaeus and other early Christian writers, a Gnostic sect called Cainites existed in the 2nd century AD.

96- Candidus

Candidus was a follower of Valentinus and in about 229-230 Origen went to Greece to argue with him. The Valentinian doctrine that salvation and damnation are predestined, independent of volition, was defended by Candidus on the ground that Satan is beyond repentance; Origen replied that if Satan fell by will, even he can repent. Demetrius, Bishop of Alexandria, was appalled by such a doctrinal view and instigated a synodical condemnation, which, however, was not accepted in Greece and Palestine.

97- Carpocrates

Carpocrates was a 2nd-century Platonist philosopher who founded a sect of Gnostic Christians. He was a religious dualist who believed that matter was evil, and the spirit good, and that salvation was gained through esoteric knowledge, or gnosis. He and his followers were radicals who condemned private property as the source of all injustice. The sect flourished in Alexandria.

98- Cassian, John (Saint)

Cassian was born in 360 AD in Scythia and he died in Marseille in 435. He was an ascetic monk, theologian, and founder and first abbot of the famous abbey of Saint-Victor at Marseille. His writings reflect the teaching of the hermits of Egypt, the Desert Fathers. Cassian's theology came from his concept of monasticism. He became a leading exponent of Semi-Pelagianism, a heresy that flourished in southern France during the 5th century. Probably of Roman birth, Cassian became a monk at Bethlehem and later visited and was trained by the hermits and monks of Egypt. About 399 he went to Constantinople, where the patriarch St. John Chrysostom ordained him deacon. A few years later, after John had been illegally deposed, Cassian went to Rome to plead John's cause with the Pope and while there was ordained priest (405). Nothing is then known of his life until 415, when he founded a nunnery at Marseille, and also the abbey of Saint-Victor, of which he remained abbot until his death. Cassian's most influential work is his Institutes of the Monastic Life (420-429); this, and his Collations of the Fathers (or Conferences of the Egyptian Monks), written as dialogues of the Desert Fathers, were influential in the further development of Western monasticism. His theological dissertation On the Incarnation of the Lord, written against the heretic Nestorius at the request of Pope Leo I, is an inferior work.

99- Celestius

Celestius (5th century) was one of the first and the most important of the disciples of the British theologian Pelagius. Like Pelagius, Celestius was practicing law in Rome when they met. Disliking the contemporary immorality, they turned from temporal to religious pursuits. When the Goths menaced Rome about 409, the two men went first to Sicily and then, about 410, to North Africa, where Celestius remained after Pelagius left for Palestine in 411. Celestius was accused of denying the existence of original sin and the remission of sins by baptism. Celestius was condemned at the Council of Carthage (412), presided over by Bishop St. Aurelius, who excommunicated him. He left for Ephesus. Celestius' propaganda and Pelagius' writings succeeded in making many converts, and a reaction against them grew led by St. Jerome and Bishop St. Augustine of Hippo. Celestius and Pelagius were condemned again at the Council of Diospolis in 415 and at two African councils in 416 and they were excommunicated in 417 by Pope St. Innocent I. Celestius visited Zosimus, the following Pope, whom he impressed and who, after receiving a profession of faith from Pelagius, accused the African bishops in 417 of having acted precipitately. Excess by the Pelagians in Rome caused the Western Roman emperor Flavius Honorius to condemn Pelagianism and exile Celestius from Italy. Celestius, who was ordered to appear before the pope, ignored the summons and fled from Rome. Zosimus excommunicated him and condemned Pelagianism. The Council of Ephesus (431) also condemned him.

100- Celsus

The second century AD Platonist thinker Celsus followed the religiously inclined form of Platonism that flourished from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD. He was one among many "cultured despisers" of Christianity. He wrote "The True Doctrine", a critic of emerging Christianity.

101- Cephas

Cephas is the Greek translation of Peter. The Christian Literalists assumes that this means Simon Peter, the Apostles and Saint.

102- Cerdo

Cerdo was a Gnostic Christian who disagrees with the Catholic Church of Rome because he believed that the God of the Old Testament could be distinguished from the God of the New Testament, one the God of justice, the other pure goodness. Cerdo convinced Marcion of his ideas and in this way influenced the Marcionite Gnostic sect that flourished in the 2nd century AD. He lived in Rome from about 136 to 142 AD.

103- Ceres

Ceres, in Roman religion, was the goddess of the growth of food plants (corn-goddess), worshiped either alone or in association with the earth goddess Tellus. At an early date her cult was identified with that of Demeter, who was widely worshiped in Sicily and Magna Graecia. The temple, built on the Aventine Hill in 493 BC, became a centre of plebeian religious and political activities and also became known for the splendour of its works of art. Destroyed by fire in 31 BC, it was restored by Augustus.

104- Cerinthus

Cerinthus lived in the 2nd century AD; he was a Christian Gnostic trained in the Egyptian tradition. He had a number of followers in Asia Minor. Cerinthus' writings are known only through the writings of hostile witnesses such as Irenaeus and Hippolytus of Rome. He preached that the world was created by a subordinate deity, called a demiurge, or by angels, one of whom gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. Cerinthus taught that Jesus was the natural son of Mary and Joseph and that the spirit of God, called Christ, descended upon Jesus at his baptism and enabled him to work miracles and to proclaim the unknown Father but left Jesus before the Passion and the resurrection. In the 2nd century the orthodox writer Gaius asserted that all the biblical writings attributed to John the Evangelist were really by Cerinthus.

105- Christ

Christ is found in the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, translating varied forms of the mashìakh, "an anointed one," from which the English "Messiah" is derived. The Hebrew conception of anointing was derived from the ancient magical idea that the application of oil endowed the person or object with certain superior, and even supernatural qualities. The term Christ was applied not only to the priests as intermediaries between God and humanity but also to the kings as representatives of God. Later it was applied to the prophets and was referred to even in connection with the patriarchs.

In the New Testament, when used as a proper name, and frequently when otherwise used, it is a designation of Jesus of Nazareth, as the expected Messiah of the Jews.

106- Cicero

Cicero was born in 106 BC at Arpinum (now Arpino), Italy and he died on December 7, 43 BC at Formiae [now Formia]. He was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, and writer who was pro-republican in the final civil wars that destroyed the republic of Rome. His writings include books on rhetoric, orations, philosophical and political treatises, and letters. He is remembered in modern times as the greatest Roman orator. Cicero was the son of a wealthy family of Arpinium that sent him to schools in Rome and in Greece. He completed the De oratore (55) and De republica (52) and began the De legibus (52). In 51 he was persuaded to leave Rome to govern the province of Cilicia, in south Asia Minor, for a year and he did it with integrity. A second period of intensive literary production included the Brutus, Paradoxa, Orator in 46; De finibus in 45; and Tusculanae disputationes, De natura deorum, and De officiis, finished after Caesar's murder, in 44. His 14 Philippic orations, the first delivered on Sept. 2, 44, the last on April 21, 43, mark his vigorous re-entry into politics. He was captured and killed near Caieta on December 7, 43 BC for his political opinions.

There are four collections of the letters: to Atticus (Ad Atticum) in 16 books; to his friends (Ad familiares) in 16 books; to Brutus; and, in 3 books, to his brother (Ad Quintum fratrem). The letters constitute a primary historical source. His best-known poems were the epics De consulatu suo (On His Consulship) and De temporibus suis (On His Life and Times), which were criticized in antiquity for their self-praise. Cicero made his reputation as an orator in politics and in the law courts, where he preferred appearing for the defence. In religion he was an agnostic most of his life, but he had religious experiences during an early visit to Eleusis where he is believed to have been initiated in the local Mystery. He usually writes as a theist, but the only religious exaltation in his writings is to be found in the "Somnium Scipionis" ("Scipio's Dream") at the end of De republica. Cicero did not write seriously on philosophy before about 54 when he seems to have begun De republica, following it with De legibus (begun in 52). These writings were an attempt to interpret Roman history in terms of Greek political theory. The bulk of his philosophical writings belong to the period between February 45 and November 44. His output and range of subjects were astonishing: the lost De consolatione, prompted by his daughter's death; Hortensius, an exhortation to the study of philosophy; the difficult Academica (Academic Philosophy), which defends suspension of judgement; De finibus, or The Supreme Good (Is it pleasure, virtue, or something more complex?); and De officiis (Moral Obligation). Except in the last book of De offics, Cicero lays no claim to originality in these works.

107- Clement of Alexandria (Saint)

Clement (150-215 AD) was born in Athens; he was Pantaenus of Alexandria's pupil in 180 and head of the catechetical school in 190. He attempted to mediate between the heretical Gnostics and the literalist Christians by appropriating the term Gnostic from the heretical. Gnosis became, in Clement's theology, a knowledge and aspect of faith; he viewed it as a personal service that "loves and teaches the ignorant and instructs the whole creation to honour God the Almighty". Thus, Clement's Christian Gnostic -as opposed to the heretical Gnostic- witnessed to non-believers, to heretics, and to fellow believers, the educated and uneducated alike, by teaching new insights and by setting a example in moral living. Like the pistic Christians, Clement held that faith was the basis of salvation; but, unlike them, he claimed that faith was also the basis of gnosis, a spiritual and mystical knowledge. By distinguishing between two levels of believers -i.e., the pistic Christian, who responds through discipline and lives on the level of the law, and the Christian Gnostic, who responds through discipline and love and lives on the level of the gospel- Clement set the stage for monasticism that began in Egypt about a half century after his death. Though much of Clement's attention was focussed upon the reorientation of men's personal lives in accordance with the Christian gospel, his interest in the social field also involved him in the political and economic forces that affected man's status and dignity. If a conflict should arise between God and Caesar (i.e., the state), the Christian was to appeal to the "higher law" of the Logos.

108- Clement of Rome (Saint)

It is assumed that Clement was born in Rome where he died in the first century AD. He was the first Apostolic Father and pope from 88 to 97 (or from 92 to 101, according to Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea), probably the third successor of St. Peter. Tertullian wrote that Peter consecrated him. Bishop St. Irenaeus of Lyon lists him as a contemporary of the Apostles and witness of their preaching. His martyrdom is legendary (he was tied to an anchor and cast into the sea). The authorship of the Letter to the Church of Corinth (I Clement) has been traditionally ascribed to him. It was written to settle a controversy among the Corinthians against their church leaders. By this Clement considered himself empowered to intervene in another community's affairs. His Letter achieved almost canonical status and was regarded as Scripture by many 3rd- and 4th-century Christians. He is credited with transmitting to the church the Ordinances of the Holy Apostles, the so-called "Apostolic Constitutions". By tradition this document is said have been written by the Apostles; it is the largest collection of early Christian ecclesiastical law. The constitutions are now believed to have been written in Syria c. 380.

109- Coelestius

Coelestius (5th century) was a disciple of Pelagius. While a lawyer in Rome he joined Pelagius in a life of ascetism and piety. They were horrified by the depraved society of their time and they tried to restore morals appealing to every men personal responsibility.

110- Colluthus

Colluthus (4th century AD) was a priest of Alexandria who created a schism when he took on the right and power of ordination although he was only in presbyter's orders. However he was not an Arian. The Council of Alexandria called by Hosius of Cordova deposed him.

111- Constantine the Great

Constantine the Great (about AD 274-337) was the first Roman emperor (306-37) to be converted to Christianity. He was the founder of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), which remained the capital of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire until 1453.

Constantine in his early life was a solar henotheist, believing that the Roman sun god, Sol, was the visible manifestation of an invisible "Highest God", who was the principle behind the universe. In 312, before a battle against Maxentius, his rival in Italy, Constantine is reported to have dreamed that Christ appeared to him and told him to inscribe the first two letters of his name (XP in Greek) on the shields of his troops. The next day he saw a cross superimposed on the sun and the words "in this sign you will be the victor". Constantine then defeated Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, near Rome. Thus, Constantine, who had been a pagan solar worshiper, now looked upon the Christian deity as a bringer of victory. Persecution of the Christians was ended, and he issued the Edict of Milan (313), which mandated toleration of Christians in the Roman Empire. As guardian of Constantine's favoured religion, the church was then given legal rights and large financial donations.

Constantine presided the first ecumenical council of the church at Nicaea in 325. He began the building of Constantinople in 326 on the site of ancient Greek Byzantium. The city was completed in 330, given Roman institutions, and beautified by ancient Greek works of art. Constantine built churches in the Holy Land, where his Christian mother supposedly found the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified. The emperor was baptized shortly before his death, on May 22, 337.

112- Cornelius

Cornelius was a Roman Centurion who was baptised, a step towards admitting Gentiles into Christianity.

113- Crowley

Crowley, Aleister (1875-1947) was first named Edward Alexander Crowley. He was a British writer and 'magician'; he became interested in the occult while an undergraduate at Cambridge, and later founded the order known as the Silver Star. He travelled widely, settling for some years in Sicily with a group of disciples at the Abbey of Thelema, near Cefalù. Rumours of drugs, orgies, and magical ceremonies led to his expulsion from Italy.

114- Cybele

Cybele was the Phrygian Mother goddess whose high priest was given the name of Attis, and at least in later times, she was attended by a band of fanatical devotees called galli, whose wild orgiastic dancing led them to self-castration in their ecstasy. The cult myth of these rites told how Cybele loved a beautiful youth named Attis. According to the earliest version, a boar killed Attis but later versions refer to wild revelry and castration. Attis was to marry a daughter of Midas (or Gallus, the king of Pessinus); the wedding guests are driven mad by Cybele, and first Midas, then Attis, castrates himself, the latter as he lies beneath a pine tree; in one version Attis is turned into a pine tree. The Roman "Phrygian rites" included the ceremonious felling of a pine tree to represent the dead youth and its transport in procession to the temple. Still later, the sacrifice of a bull and the belief in the resurrection of Attis were added to the cult. In Asia Minor, the cult of Cybele is marked by carved rock facades with niches or by rock-hewn thrones, on which a statue rests. Cybele was a goddess of the mountains, out of which she was believed to manifest herself to her devotees.

115- Cyprian (Saint)

Cyprian was born around AD 200 in Carthage where he died in 258. He was an early Christian theologian and bishop of Carthage who led the Christians of North Africa during a period of persecution from Rome. Upon his execution he became the first bishop-martyr of Africa. Cyprian was born in a wealthy pagan family and was educated in law. He practiced as a lawyer in Carthage before he was converted to Christianity about 246. Within two years he was elected bishop of Carthage and a few months later, early in 250, was confronted by the Decian persecution. He went into hiding and, as a result, thousands of Christians rejected their faith or obtained "libelli" (certificates), by which they declared that they had sacrificed to the pagan gods. When the persecution began to diminish, the confessors -those who had stood firm for their faith- reconciled the lapsed, claiming that they had the right of granting pardon, even more than did priests and bishops. Cyprian returned to Carthage (early 251) and at a council of bishops in May, 251 regained his authority. Three important principles of church discipline were thus established:

- The right and power to remit deadly sins, even that of apostasy, lay in the hands of the church.

- The final authority in disciplinary matters rested with the bishops in council as repositories of the Holy Spirit.

- Unworthy members among the laity must be accepted in the New Israel of Christianity just as in the Old Israel of Judaism.

In 252 a renewed threat of persecution by the emperor Gallus encouraged a speedier reintegration of the lapsed, because many now wanted to prove themselves as martyrs. In the same year, the steadfastness of the Christian clergy in face of a plague won for the church further popular support, and Cyprian defeated internal enemies who had set up a rival bishop in Carthage.

116- Cyril of Alexandria (Saint)

Cyril was born around 375 and died on June 27, 444; he was a Christian theologian and bishop active in the doctrinal struggles of the 5th century. He is chiefly known for his campaign against Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople, whose views on Christ's nature were to be declared heretical. He succeeded his uncle Theophilus as bishop of the see of Alexandria in 412. He closed the churches of the Novatians, a schismatic sect that denied the power of the church to absolve those who had lapsed into idolatry during persecution. He also was involved in the expulsion of Jews from Alexandria following their attacks upon Christians. Riots ensued, and Cyril, who if not directly responsible at least had done nothing to prevent them, was forced to acknowledge the authority of the civil government. Cyril remained a chief citizen of Egypt, and in his struggle with Nestorius he was in some ways a political as well as a religious leader. The religious argument involved the relation of the divine and human within Jesus Christ. Cyril emphasized the unity of the two in one Person, while Nestorius so emphasized their distinctness that he seemed to be splitting Christ into two Persons acting in concert. Their dispute was referred to a general council at Ephesus in 431. Cyril convened the council and condemned Nestorius. He had not waited, however, for the arrival of certain bishops from the East, particularly from the see of Antioch. When they did reach Ephesus, they reconvened the council and condemned Cyril. Papal recognition of Cyril's council was eventually obtained and Nestorius was banished as a heretic. Even so, the dispute continued, and peace in the church was only restored in 433, when Cyril accepted a compromise with Antioch, that emphasized the distinctness of the two natures within the one Person of Christ.

117- Cyril of Jerusalem, Saint

Cyril was born about 315 in Jerusalem and he died about 386 also in Jerusalem. He was the bishop of Jerusalem and doctor of the church who promoted the development of the "holy city" as a pilgrimage centre for all Christendom. A senior presbyter when he succeeded Maximus as bishop (c. 350), Cyril was exiled about 357 and at twice again later from his see by the Arians. Many years later at the Council of Constantinople (381) there was evidence that he might have been suspected by the strictly orthodox for his associations with the Homoiousians, who had reinstated him as bishop at the Council of Seleucia (359). He retained his bishopric during the reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). Cyril's primary surviving work is a collection of 23 catechetical lectures (Catecheses) delivered to candidates for Baptism. The first 18, based on the Jerusalem baptismal creed, were given during Lent, and the concluding 5 instructed the newly baptized during the week after Easter.

118- Damascius

Damascius was born in AD 480 and he died circa 550. He was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher and the last Platonic scholars at the Greek Academy at Athens, which was founded by Plato about 387 BC. A pupil and close friend of the Greek philosopher Isidore of Alexandria, Damascius became head of the Academy about 520 and was still in office when the Christian emperor Justinian closed it, along with other pagan schools, in 529. Damascius, with six other members of the Academy, went to Persia to serve the court of King Khosrow I. The treaty of 533 between Justinian and Khosrow allowed them to return to Athens, where their philosophy was more accepted. The chief surviving work of Damascius, Aporiai kai lyseis peri ton proton archon (Problems and Solutions About the First Principles), elaborates the comprehensive system of the Neoplatonist thinker Proclus. Despite his Athenian Neoplatonism's hair-splitting logic and theosophical fantasy, Damascius' work opens the way to genuine mysticism by his insistence that human speculation can never attain to the ineffable first principle. Though a pagan, Damascius led the way to Christian mystics.

119- Darius I

Darius I The Great (about 558-486 BC) was king of Persia (521-486 BC); he was a member of a royal Persian family, the Achaemenids. In 522 BC, on the death of King Cambyses II, a group of Magian priests tried to give the throne to one of them, Gaumata who pretended to be Smerdis (died about 523 BC), the murdered brother of Cambyses II. In 521, Darius defeated Gaumata and was chosen king of Persia.

He first suppressed rebellions then he reformed the internal organization of Persia and made its borders secure. He reorganized the vast empire into 20 satrapies, built highways, organized a postal system, reformed the currency, encouraged commerce, and won the goodwill of large portions of the population. Because he respected their religions, he was liked by the Jews, whom he permitted to complete the rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem in 516; by the Egyptians, whose high priest he consulted; and by the Greeks of Asia Minor, whose oracles supported him during the revolt of the Greek cities.

Darius conquered territories along the Indus River in the east and in the Caucasus Mountains in the northeast, but his expedition in 516 against the tribes of the Danube River failed. In 499 a revolt broke out among the Ionian Greek cities of Asia Minor. The revolt was suppressed by 493, and Darius prepared to punish the mainland Greeks for their intervention but his army was finally defeated at Marathon. Another expedition was being prepared when Darius died. He left a detailed account of his reign.

120- David (King)

David was king of Judah and Israel from 1000 until his death in 961 BC; he was the founder of the Judean dynasty.

David was the youngest son of Jesse, a shepherd of Bethlehem, and a sheperd himself in his youth. He became known for his musical skill and for his courage, exemplified by his victorious encounter with the Philistine giant Goliath. As his reputation grew, he was summoned to the royal court. After achieving distinction in the wars against the Philistines, he married Michal, Saul's daughter, and won the friendship of Jonathan, Saul's son. Due to his great popularity, the king banished him from the court.

David returned to his native country after Saul, Jonathan, and two others of Saul's four sons died in battle with the Philistines. Becoming king of Judah at Hebron, he reigned for seven years, until about 993 BC, when he was anointed king of Israel. David defeated in rapid succession the Philistines, Moabites, Aramaeans, Edomites, and Ammonites. One of his principal conquests was the Jebusite stronghold of Zion, which he made his capital, Jerusalem, often called the City of David. There he constructed his palace and installed, under a tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, making Jerusalem the religious and political centre of the domains united in his person. David selected Solomon as heir to the throne. David displayed unfailing religious devotion and represented the courage and aspirations of his people, whose prophets regard him as the promised Messiah. In both the Old Testament and New Testament, the Messiah is referred to as the Son of David.

121- Dee, John

John Dee was born on July 13, 1527 in London, England and he died in December 1608 at Mortlake, Surrey. Dee was an English alchemist, astrologer, and mathematician. He lectured and studied on the European continent between 1547 and 1550 before returning to England in 1551 where was granted a pension by the government. Dee became astrologer to the queen, Mary Tudor before imprisoned for being a magician but was released in 1555. Dee practiced astrology and horoscopy in the court of Elizabeth I; he advised the pilots and navigators who were exploring the New World. He chose the best day for Elizabeth's coronation, and he gave her lessons in the mystical interpretation of his writings. In 1570 he participated in the writing of the first English translation of Euclid's work. He is also the author of the preface. Later Dee travelled to Poland and Bohemia (1583-89), giving exhibitions of magic at the courts of various princes. He became warden of Manchester College in 1595.

122- Delilah

According to the Old Testament Delilah was the mistress of Samson, a judge of Israel. After learning that Samson's hair was the source of his strength, Delilah accepted a Philistine bribe and betrayed Samson by cutting his hair while he slept. It is not clear whether she was a Hebrew or a Philistine.

123- Demeter

In the Greek religion, Demeter was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, sister and consort of Zeus, and goddess of agriculture. Her name may mean either "grain mother" or "mother earth". She is not included among the Olympian gods, but the roots of her legend are ancient. The legend is centred on the story of her daughter Persephone, who was taken by Hades, the god of the underworld. Demeter went in search of Persephone and, during her journey, revealed her secret rites to the people of Eleusis. Her distress at her daughter's disappearance was said to have diverted her attention from the harvest and caused a famine. In addition to Zeus, Demeter had a consort, Iasion (a Cretan), to whom she bore Plutus. Demeter appeared most commonly as a grain goddess. The influence of Demeter extended to vegetation and to all the fruits of the earth, except the bean. She was sometimes identified with the Great Mother of the Gods (Rhea, or Cybele). Another important aspect of Demeter was that of a divinity of the underworld; she was worshiped as such at Sparta, and especially at the festival of Chthonia at Hermione in Argolis. Demeter also appeared as a goddess of health, birth, and marriage and as a divinity of the underworld. Among the agrarian festivals held in honour of Demeter were the following:

- Haloa, apparently derived from halos ("threshing floor"), begun at Athens and finished at Eleusis, where there was a threshing floor of Triptolemus, her first priest and inventor of agriculture; it was held in the month Poseideon (December).

- Chloia, the festival of the grain beginning to sprout, held at Eleusis in the early spring (Anthesterion) in honour of Demeter Chloë ("the Green"), the goddess of growing vegetation.

- Proerosia, at which prayers were offered for an abundant harvest, before the land was ploughed for sowing. The festival took place, probably sometime in September, at Eleusis.

- Thalysia, a thanksgiving festival held in autumn after the harvest in the island of Cos.

- The Thesmophoria, a women's festival meant to improve the fruitfulness of the seed grain.

- The Skirophoria held in midsummer, a companion festival.

Her attributes were connected chiefly with her character as goddess of agriculture and vegetation (ears of grain, the mystic basket filled with flowers, grain, and fruit of all kinds). The pig was her favourite animal, and as a chthonian (underworld) deity she was accompanied by a snake. The Romans identified Demeter with Ceres.

124- Demetrius of Phaleron

Demetrius was born about 350 BC at Phaleron, near Athens [Greece] and he died about 280 in Egypt. He was also known as Demetrius Phalereus. He was an Athenian orator, statesman, and philosopher who was appointed governor of Athens by the Macedonian general Cassander (317 BC). He favoured the upper classes and rationalised the ideas of earlier political theorists as Aristotle. When the old democracy was restored in 307, Demetrius escaped to Thebes and later to Egypt.

125- Diagoras

Diagoras was a 5th century B.C. Greek Sophist, poet, a writer of hymns and dithyrambs. He took refuge in Corinth when condemned to death by the Athenians for impiety and for his satirical attacks on superstitious religions. He was also called the Atheist.

126- Diodochus of Photice

Diodochus of Photice was a 4th century Gnostic of the Christian Eastern Church. He taught the oral tradition of "private secret teaching" to the initiates into the Inner Mysteries of Christianity.

127- Diodorus Cronus

Diodorus Cronus was born in the 4th century BC. He was a philosopher of the Megarian School, known for his innovations in logic. Through Apollonius he is linked with Eubulides of Miletus, a 4th-century Greek thinker; together the three men formed the branch of the Megarian School that was especially strong in formal logic. None of Diodorus' writings exist today.

128- Diodorus of Tarsus

Diodorus of Tarsus (died about 390 AD) was he was the head of an Antiochene monastery and bishop of Tarsus from 378. He was banished by the Arian emperor Valens in 372 but was at the Council of Constantinople in 381. He was the teacher of John Chrysostom and Theodore of Mopsuestia.

129- Diodorus Siculus

Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian of the 1st century BC, at Agyrium, Sicily. He is the author of a universal history, Bibliotheca historica. Diodorus lived in the time of Julius Caesar and Augustus; he travelled in Egypt during 60-57 BC and spent several years in Rome. His history consisted of 40 books and was divided into three parts. The first treats of the mythic history of the non-Hellenic and Hellenic tribes to the destruction of Troy; the second ends with Alexander's death; and the third continues the history as far as the beginning of Caesar's Gallic War. The Bibliotheca, invaluable where no other continuous historical source has survived, supplies to some extent the loss of the works of earlier authors, from which it was compiled.

130- Diogenes

Diogenes was born at Sinope, Paphlygoniad in 420 BC and he died in 320 BC, probably at Corinth, Greece. He was a Greek philosopher, a follower of Antisthene, Socrates'disciple, one of the founders of the Cynics School, a sect that stressed stoic self-sufficiency and the rejection of luxury. It was by personal example rather than any coherent system of thought that Diogenes taught the Cynic philosophy. After being sold into slavery, he declared that his trade was that of governing men and was appointed tutor to his master's sons. Tradition shows him looking for an honest man conducted in broad daylight with a lighted lantern. Almost certainly forced into exile from Sinope with his father. He sought to expose the falsity of most conventional standards and beliefs and to call men back to a simple, natural life. For Diogenes the simple life meant not only disregard of luxury but also disregard of laws and customs of organized, and therefore "conventional," communities. The family was viewed as an unnatural institution to be replaced by a natural state in which men and women would be promiscuous and children would be the common concern of all. Though Diogenes himself lived in poverty, slept in public buildings, and begged his food, he did not insist that all men should live in the same way. Among Diogenes' lost writings are dialogues, plays, and the Republic, which described an anarchist utopia in which men lived "natural" lives.

131- Dionysius Exigus

Dionysius Exigus lived in the 6th century AD. He is the inventor of the Christian calendar. Tradition refers to him as an abbot. He arrived in Rome about the time of the death (496) of Pope St. Gelasius I, who had summoned him to organize the pontifical archives. Thereafter, Dionysius flourished as a scholar at Rome. He wrongly dated the birth of Christ. Highly reputed as a theologian and as an accomplished mathematician and astronomer, Dionysius was well versed in the Holy Scriptures and in canon law.

132- Dionysius the Areopagite (pseudo Dionysus)

Dionysus the Aeropagite was Paul's co-worker. When Justinian closed the ancient school of philosophy in Athens, four mystical treaties by this Dionysus appeared. Assuming that they are not forgeries, they escaped the ban of heresy and they became accepted as second only to Augustine's works to become the reference for all later Christian mystics.

133- Dionysus

Dionysus or Bacchus was the god of fruitfulness and vegetation and he was also known as a god of wine and ecstasy; his cult represented a reversion to pre-Hellenic Minoan nature religion. According to the most popular tradition, Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Semele. Hera, Zeus' wife, out of jealousy persuaded Semele to prove her lover's divinity by requesting him to appear in his real person. Zeus complied, but his power was too great for the mortal Semele, who was blasted with thunderbolts. Zeus saved his son by sewing him up in his thigh, keeping him there until he reached maturity, so that he was twice born. Dionysus was brought up by the bacchantes at Hermes' request. As Dionysus apparently represented the sap, juice, or lifeblood element in nature, lavish festal orgia (rites) in his honour were widely instituted. These Dionysia (Bacchanalia,) quickly won converts among the women. The men, however, met it with hostility. The women abandoned their families and took to the hills, wearing fawn skins and crowns of ivy and shouting "Euoi!" the ritual cry and they danced by torchlight to the rhythm of the flute and the tympanon (kettledrum). The worship of Dionysus flourished long in Asia Minor, particularly in Phrygia and Lydia. Dionysus was believed to have descended to the underworld to bring back his mother Semele and was also associated with Persephone in southern Italy. Dionysus possessed the gift of prophecy. He had an oracle in Thrace and was later patron of a healing shrine at Amphicleia in Phocis. He often took on a bestial shape and was associated with various animals. His personal attributes were an ivy wreath, the thyrsus, and the kantharos, a large two-handled goblet.

133bis - Diotina

Diotina was a pagan priestess who, according to tradition, taught philosophy to Socrates but there is no real evidence to confirm it.

134- Dominic, Saint

St. Dominic (about 1170/1221) was a Spanish religious leader who founded the Order of Friars Preachers, also called the Dominican Order. He was born in Calaruega in the Old Castile region of Spain. He studied at the University of Palencia and became a canon at the cathedral of Osma, near El Burgo. Later, he opposed the heretical teachings of the Albigenses. In 1216, Pope Honorius III gave him permission to establish a new religious order for the purpose of preaching against heresy. By the time of Dominic's death, the order had spread throughout Europe.

135- Dositheus

Dositheus was a Samaritan heretic, a Gnostic Sage and teacher who lived about 100 AD. He was probably linked to the Essenes as he came from their region.

136- Dyonisius of Tarsus

Dyonisius (2d century AD) was the Bishop of Corinth (about 170) and author of seven "Catholic Epistles" to churches in Greece, Bithynia, Crete, Pontus and Rome as well as to Chrysophora. They do not exist anymore but various quotations by Eusebius show that he was anti-Marcionite, opposed to excessive ascetism and an advocate of Roman Church episcopal authority.

137- Eckhart

Johannes Eckhart, Meister (circa 1260-1328) was a German mystic and Christian theologian. Born in Hochheim of a family of knights, Eckhart joined the Dominicans at the age of 15. He received a master's degree in theology from the University of Paris in 1302 and then served as prior at Erfurt and as Dominican vicar-general for Bohemia. He was a professor of theology in Paris in 1311, and between 1314 and 1322 he taught and preached in Strasbourg and was also a preacher in Cologne.

Eckhart's theology was similar to that of another Dominican, St. Thomas Aquinas, but it also incorporated much Neoplatonic thought. His teachings on the union of the soul with God led to accusations of pantheism. Eckhart had to defend himself against accusations of heresy before Pope John XXII in 1327. Eckhart recanted on some 26 articles, but a papal bull issued in 1329 that condemned Eckhart's teaching named 28.

Modern scholars consider Eckhart's mysticism generally orthodox, although surviving sermons and tracts are usually thought to have been edited by Eckhart's friends and foes. Talks of Instruction (1300?), The Book of Divine Consolation (1308?), and a score of sermons are considered among the most authentic works.

138- Elijah

Elijah or Elias lived in 9th century BC and he was the most popular Hebrew prophet. His lifetime was a period of social and religious change. Elijah led the battle against the idolatrous worship of the Phoenician god Baal. He was involved in a contest of "miracles" with the prophets of Baal and won by demonstrating the supremacy of God over Baal. The anticipation of Elijah's return to earth, after his death, as the precursor of the Messiah is based on the account of his removal from earth in a whirlwind and finds support also in the words of Malachi, the last prophet. Jesus Christ declared John the Baptist to be the spiritual fulfilment of this anticipation.

139- Elizabeth (Saint)

Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist in the New Testament, and the wife of Zacharias, a priest. When the childless Elizabeth was already old, the angel Gabriel appeared to her husband and prophesied a son. Six months later the angel appeared to Mary to announce the conception of Jesus. During the pregnancy of both women, they met, and Elizabeth greeted Mary by saying "Blessed are you among women" and called her "mother of my Lord". She was made a saint.

140- Elkesai

Elkesai was a Syrian Judeo- Christian Gnostic prophet who appeared about 100 AD.

141- Elohim

Elohim is the general term used occasionally in the Old Testament for any divine being, but more frequently in reference to the God of the Israelites. It means greatness and majesty and is one of the two most commonly used names for God. The other is Yahweh. Biblical scholars have regarded the frequent use of the term in the Pentateuch as the key-identifying feature of the second oldest pentateuchal source, known therefore as "E." Accordingly, the author of "E" is sometimes referred to as the Elohist.

142- Empedocles

Empedocles was born around 490 BC at Acragas, Sicily and he died about 430 in the Peloponnese, Greece. He was a Greek philosopher (disciple of Pythagoras), statesman, poet, religious teacher, miracle worker, and physiologist. According to legend, Empedocles was a self-styled "immortal" god who brought about his own death" by throwing himself into the volcanic crater of Mount Etna to convince followers of his divinity. Aristotle hailed him as the inventor of rhetoric, and Galen regarded him as the founder of Italian medicine. Lucretius admired his hexametric poetry. All that remains of his writings are 400 lines from his poem Peri physeos ("On Nature") and less than 100 verses from his poem Katharmoi ("Purifications"). Empedocles assumed that all matter was composed of four essential ingredients, fire, air, water, and earth, and that nothing either comes into being or is destroyed but that things are merely transformed. Like Heraclitus, he believed that two forces, Love and Strife, interact to bring together and to separate the four substances. Strife makes each of these elements separate from the others; Love makes them mix together. He was a believer in the transmigration of souls and he believed that those who have sinned must wander for 30,000 seasons through many mortal bodies and be tossed from one of the four elements to another. Escape from such punishment requires purification, particularly abstention from the flesh of animals, whose souls may once have inhabited human bodies.

143- Epictetus

Epictetus was born in AD 55, probably at Hierapolis, Phrygia and he died about 135 at Nicopolis, Epirus [Greece]. He was a Greek philosopher associated with the Stoics School; he is remembered for the religious tone of his teachings that pleased numerous early Christian thinkers. As a boy he was a slave in Nero's service, but he followed lectures by the Stoic Musonius Rufus before becoming a freedman. In AD 90 he was expelled from Rome with other philosophers by the emperor Domitian. The rest of his life Epictetus spent at Nicopolis. Epictetus wrote nothing but his teachings were transmitted by Arian, his pupil, in two works: Discourses, of which four books still exist today; and the Encheiridion, or Manual, a condensed aphoristic version of the main doctrines. He was above all interested in ethics and true education, he believed, consists in recognizing that his will, or purpose, belongs to an individual. God, acting as a good king and father, has given each being a will that cannot be compelled by outside factors. Man must believe there is a God whose thought directs the universe. As a political theorist, Epictetus saw man as a member of a great system that includes God and men. Each human being is primarily a citizen of his own, but he is also a member of the great city of gods and men. All men are the sons of God by virtue of their rationality and are similar in nature with the divinity.

144- Epicurus

Epicurus (341-270 BC) was a Greek philosopher, born on the island of Sámos of an Athenian family, and educated by his father and by various philosophers. At the age of 18 he went to Athens to do military service. After a brief stay he went to Colophon (322), where he began teaching. Epicurus founded a philosophical school in Mitilíni on the island of Lesbos about 311, and two or three years later he became head of a school in Lampsacus (now Lâpseki, Turkey). Returning to Athens in 306, he settled there permanently and taught his doctrines to devoted followers. Because instruction took place in the garden of Epicurus' home, his followers from all over Greece and Asia Minor -men and women- were known as "philosophers of the garden."

Epicurus was a prolific author. He left 300 manuscripts, including 37 treatises on physics and numerous works on love, justice, the gods, and other subjects. Of his writings, only three letters and a number of short fragments survive, preserved in Diogenes Laërtius' biography. The principal additional sources of information about the doctrines of Epicurus are the works of the Roman writers Cicero, Seneca, Plutarch, and Lucretius.

145- Epiphanes

Epiphanes was the son of the Gnostic Master Carpocrates; he died when 17 years old. He wrote an important Gnostic treaty called "On Justice" in which he condemns property and social authority and where he says that all human beings, free or slave, have divine rights.

146- Epiphanius (Epiphanus) of Constantia (Saint)

Epiphanius was born in 315 AD, near Eleutheropolis, Palestine and he died in May 403, at sea. He is recorded in the history of the early Christian church for his struggle against heretical beliefs especially against the teachings of Origen, a major theologian in the Eastern Church whom he considered more a Greek philosopher than a Christian. Epiphanius studied and practiced monasticism in Egypt and then returned to Palestine; he founded a monastery near Eleutheropolis and became its superior. In 367 he was made bishop of Constantia (Salamis) in Cyprus. He spent the rest of his life in that post, spreading monasticism and campaigning against heretics. He wrote the Panarion (374-377), an account of 80 heresies and their refutations, which ends with a statement of orthodox doctrine. His Ancoratus (374) is a collection of the Church teachings. His works are valuable as a source for the history of theological ideas.

147- Eratosthenes

Eratosthenes was born about 276 BC at Cyrene, Libya and he died about 194 at Alexandria, Egypt. He was a Greek scientific writer, astronomer, and poet, the first man known to have calculated the Earth's circumference. He also measured the degree of obliquity of the tilt of the Earth's axis with great accuracy and compiled a star catalogue. His mathematical work is known principally from the writings of Pappus of Alexandria. After study in Alexandria and Athens, Eratosthenes settled in Alexandria about 255 BC and became director of the great library. He worked out a calendar that included leap years. His writings include a poem inspired by astronomy, as well as works on the theatre and on ethics.

148- Eros

Eros, in Greek mythology, was the god of love and the equivalent of the Roman Cupid. In early mythology he was represented as one of the primeval forces of nature, the son of Chaos, and the embodiment of the harmony and creative power in the universe. Later mythology made him the constant attendant of his mother, Aphrodite, goddess of love.

149- Eshmun

Eshmun was a God of Sidon (Phoenicia), assimilated by the Greek with Asklepios. He was a fertility god who became important in Carthage.

150- Esther

Esther was the beautiful Jewish wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). Together with her cousin Mordecai they persuaded the king to cancel an order for the killing of all the Jews in the empire. The massacre had been plotted by the king's chief minister, Haman, and the date decided by casting lots (purim). Haman was hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai and, on the day planned for their annihilation, the Jews destroyed their enemies. Esther is the name of an Old Testament book.

151- Eumolpus

Eumolpus is described as being a mythical ancestor of the priestly clan of the Eumolpids at Eleusis, Greece, and the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries, the best known of the Greek mystery cults. His name means "good" or "strong singer" that is a priest who could chant his litanies clearly and well. Three identities for Eumolpus have been assumed:

Being a "sweet singer," he was connected with Thrace, the country of Orpheus. He was the son of the god Poseidon and Chione (Snow Girl), daughter of the north wind, Boreas; after various adventures he became king in Thrace but was killed while helping the Eleusinians in their war against Erectheus of Athens.

As one of the originators of the Eleusinian Mysteries, he was an Eleusinian, a son of Earth (Ge), father of Keryx, and the mythical ancestor of the Kerykes (Heralds).

Because Orpheus and his followers were closely connected with mysteries of all sorts, Eumolpus was believed to be the son, father, or pupil of Musaeus, a mythical singer closely allied with Orpheus.

152- Eunapius

Eunapius was born in 345 AD at Sardis, Lydia and he died in 420. He was a Greek rhetorician and historiographer whose "Lives of the Philosophers and Sophists" is important as a source of information on contemporary Neoplatonist. Eunapius was educated under the rhetorician Praeresius and was initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries. Eunapius was an ardent opponent of Christianity. He also wrote a supplement to the Chronological History of Publius Herennius Dexippus, continuing the history from AD 270 to 404. Of this work only fragments remain.

153- Euripides

Euripides was born in 484 BC at Athens [Greece] and he died in 406 in Macedonia, He was the last of classical Athens' three great tragic dramatists and tragedians, following Aeschylus and Sophocles. There is indirect evidence that he came of a rich family. Euripides competed in the dramatic festival in 455, and he won his first victory in 441. Euripides left Athens for good in 408, invited by Archelaus, king of Macedonia where he died in 406. He was interested in ideas and owned a large library. He is said to have associated with Protagoras, Anaxagoras, and other Sophists and philosopher-scientists. His acquaintance with new ideas brought him restlessness rather than conviction. It is known that he had a wife called Melito and had three sons. One of these was a poet and produced the Bacchants after his father's death. He may also have completed his father's unfinished play Iphigenia at Aulis. The ancients knew of 92 plays composed by Euripides with nineteen existing today.

154- Eurydice

In an ancient Greek legend Eurydice was the wife of Orpheus. Her husband's attempt to retrieve her from Hades forms the basis of one of the most popular Greek legends.

155- Eusebius, Saint

Eusebius was born in Greece and he died in 309/310 in Sicily. He was pope from April 18 to Aug. 17, 309/310. According to Pope Damasus I, a violent dispute took place in Rome about readmitting apostates after the persecution of Christians under the Roman emperor Diocletian. In opposition to Eusebius some wanted offenders readmitted to the church without penance. The Roman emperor Maxentius exiled both Eusebius and his opponents. Eusebius was sent to Sicily, where he died almost immediately. His body was taken to Rome and interred in the catacomb of Calixtus. Eusebius is venerated as a martyr.

156- Eusebius of Caesarea (also Eusebius Pamphilus)

Eusebius of Caesarea (also Pamphilus or Pamphili) was active during the 4th century as a bishop, exegete, polemicist, and historian with his account of the first centuries of Christianity in his Ecclesiastical History. Eusebius was baptized and ordained at Caesarea, where the learned presbyter Pamphilus taught him. The Roman authorities at Caesarea may have imprisoned Eusebius. In the Ecclesiastical History Eusebius constantly quotes or paraphrases his sources, and he thus preserved portions of earlier works that are no longer extant. He had already compiled his Chronicle, which was an outline of world history, and he carried this annalistic method over into his Ecclesiastical History. Eusebius, however, was not a great historian. Eusebius became bishop of Caesarea (in Palestine) about 313. When about 318 the theological views of Arius, a priest of Alexandria, became the subject of controversy because he taught the subordination of the Son to the Father, Eusebius was soon involved. Expelled from Alexandria for heresy, Arius found sympathy at Caesarea. Eusebius wrote to Alexander, claiming that Arius had been misrepresented. At a strongly anti-Arian synod at Antioch, about January 325, Eusebius and two of his allies, Theodotus of Laodicea and Narcissus of Neronias in Cilicia, were provisionally excommunicated for Arian views. When the Council of Nicaea, called by the Roman emperor Constantine I, met later in the year, Eusebius had to explain himself and was exonerated with the explicit approval of the emperor. Eusebius remained in the emperor's favour as his historian and biographer and, after Constantine's death in 337, he wrote his Life of Constantine.

157- Eusebius of Dorylaeum

Eusebius of Dorylaeum lived in 5th century. He was bishop of Dorylaeum and an opponent of the Nestorians (who believed that the divine and human persons remained separate in Christ). While a layman, Eusebius challenged publicly (429) the teaching of Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople. His action led to Nestorius' condemnation by the Council of Ephesus (431). In 448 Eusebius charged his friend Eutyches, an archimandrite at Constantinople, with heresy for holding a doctrine later known as monophysitism (which asserted that Jesus Christ had but one nature, not two). The charge by Eusebius led to Eutyches' deposition by a synod summoned by Bishop Flavian of Constantinople. Eutyches was then excommunicated by Pope Leo I the Great but was reinstated by the council that met in Ephesus in 449; Eusebius was deposed for his role in the matter. He appealed to Leo and in 451 he was rehabilitated by the Council of Chalcedon, for which he assisted in drafting the classic definitions of the person and natures of Christ and which caused Eutyches' banishment.

158- Eusebius of Emesa

Eusebius of Emesa was born in circa 300 AD in Edessa, Macedonia [now in Greece] and he died in circa 359 at Antioch, now Antakya, Turkey. He was a disciple of Eusebius of Caesarea, bishop of Emesa, and a chief doctrinal writer on Semi-Arianism (a modified Arianism that held that Christ was "like" God the Father but not of one substance). The Arian Synode of Antioch elected him successor of Athanasius but he refused. A friend of the Roman emperor Constantius II, whom he often accompanied on expeditions against the Persians, Eusebius was appointed (in circa 339) to the see of Emesa. Because of his unorthodoxy, he was expelled from the city by its inhabitants but was reinstated after taking refuge with Bishop George of Laodicea, a central figure of the 4th-century Arian controversies.

159- Eusebius of Laodicea

Eusebius of Laodicea was born in Alexandria, Egypt and he died in circa 269 at Laodicea, Syria. He was a deacon of Alexandria who became bishop of Laodicea, after risking his life helping Christian martyrs during the persecutions of the Roman emperors Decius (250) and Valerian (257). He was a former pupil of Origen. When Alexandria was besieged in 262 by troops of Valerian's successor and son, Gallienus, Eusebius and his friend Anatolius (his later successor) negotiated the release of persecuted Christians and non-combatants. In 264 Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria sent Eusebius to a synod at Antioch, whose bishop, Paul, was being tried for heresy. On his return journey, Eusebius was persuaded to become bishop of Laodicea.

160- Eusebius of Myndus

Eusebius of Myndus lived in the 4th century AD. He was a Neoplatonist philosopher, a pupil of Aedesius of Pergamum; unlike the other members of the Pergamene school he distinguished himself by his sobriety and rationality and by his contempt for the religious magic, or theurgy. The future emperor Julian "the Apostate" abandoned his philosophical teachings for the sensations provided by the wonder-worker Maximus of Ephesus.

161- Eusebius of Nicomedia

Eusebius of Nicomedia was probably born in Syria and he died in circa 342. He was an important 4th-century Eastern Church bishop and a proponent of Arianism (the doctrine that Jesus Christ is not of the same substance as God) who eventually became the leader of an Arian group called the Eusebians. Eusebius was, successively, bishop of Berytus and, about 318, bishop of Nicomedia. He supported Arius' cause and when Arius was condemned in a synod at Alexandria in 323, Eusebius sheltered him and sponsored a synod (also in 323) at Bithynia, which cancelled Arius' excommunication. Eusebius refused to recognize Christ as being "of the same substance" (homoousion) with the Father. At the first ecumenical Council of Nicaea, in 325, he led the opposition against the Homoousians but the council finally accepted their clause. He refused to sign the anathema condemning the Arians. After the council he renewed his alliance with Arius, and the Roman emperor Constantine I the Great exiled him to Gaul until 328. His fight against the Homoousians led Constantine to depose and exile Bishop St. Athanasius the Great of Alexandria at a synod in Tyre in 335 and to reinstate Arius at a synod in Jerusalem in 335. Eusebius was also close to Constantine's son and successor, the pro-Arian Constantius II, and was made bishop of Constantinople in 339. He presided over a synod in Antioch in 341 where a creed omitting the homoousion clause was adopted and he probably died soon afterward.

162- Eusebius of Samosata, Saint

Eusebius of Samosata died in circa 379 at Dolikha, probably in Asia Minor. He was a Christian martyr and famous opponent of Arianism. In 361 he became bishop of the ancient Syrian city of Samosata. In 360 Eusebius had been entrusted with the official record of the election of Bishop St. Meletius of Antioch who was supported by the Arian bishops, who believed that he was sympathetic to their cause. When Meletius expounded his orthodoxy, the bishops persuaded the Roman emperor Constantius II, a staunch Arian, to extort the record from Eusebius and destroy it. In 361 Constantius threatened Eusebius with the loss of his right hand because he refused to surrender the record, but the threat was withdrawn when Eusebius offered both hands. During the persecution of orthodox Christians under the Eastern Roman emperor Valens (also an Arian), Eusebius travelled incognito through Syria and Palestine, restoring orthodox bishops and priests who had been deposed by the Arians. In 374 Valens banished him to Thrace, but after the Emperor's death in 378, Eusebius was restored to his see of Samosata. While in Dolikha to consecrate a bishop, he was killed by an Arian woman.

163- Eusebius of Vercelli, Saint

Eusebius of Vercelli was born in the 4th century in Sardinia and he died in 370/71 at Vercelli, Italy. He was a supporter of St. Athanasius the Great of Alexandria, Egypt, and restorer of the Nicene Creed (the orthodox doctrine adopted by the first Council of Nicaea in 325 which declared the members of the Trinity to be equal). Eusebius became the first bishop of Vercelli in 345. Living in community with his priests, he was the first Western bishop to unite monastic life with the ministry. At the Council of Milan (355), he refused to sign the condemnation of Athanasius and, as a result, he was exiled to the East. Pardoned by the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate, he attended the Synod of Alexandria (362), whose decrees on the Nicene Creed he promulgated, helping to restore orthodoxy and unity throughout the empire. Returning to Italy, he worked with St. Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, France, in opposing Arianism. Three letters written during his exile are extant. The first seven books of De Trinitate, long attributed to Athanasius or Bishop Vigilius of Thapsus, are presently accepted as Eusebius' work.

164- Eustathius

Eustasthius was born about 300 and he died in 377 (or 380). He was bishop of Sebaste (now Sabastiyah, West Bank) and metropolitan of Roman Armenia. He was noted for his extreme or heterodox theological positions. He studied under the heretic Arius at Alexandria and this explains his later rejection of the orthodox theory of the Holy Spirit. Earlier, he was controversial for his asceticism, according to which marriage and the discharge of family responsibilities were unacceptable. He was condemned by the Council of Gangra (343) but he was still made bishop of Sebaste in 357. Later he visited Rome and he signed the Nicene Creed. After 371 Eustathius upheld Semi-Arianism and quarrelled with his former monastic protégé St. Basil whom he helped writing his rule. Later he participated in the Mascedonian heresy.

165- Eustathius of Antioch, Saint

Eustathius of Antioch was born at Side, Pamphylia and he died circa 337 possibly in Thrace. Also called Eustathius The Great, he opposed the followers of the condemned doctrine of Arius at the Council of Nicaea. Eustathius was first bishop of Beroea (circa 320) and became bishop of Antioch shortly before the Council of Nicaea (325). The pro-Arian Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea led to Eustathius' deposition by a synod at Antioch (327/330) and banishment to Thrace by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. The resistance of his followers in Antioch created a Eustathian faction that survived until about 485 that developed into the Meletian Schism, a split in the Eastern Church over the doctrine of the Trinity.

166- Evagrius of Pontus

Evagrius of Pontus was a 4th century Gnostic of the Christian Eastern Church. He taught the oral tradition of "private secret teaching" to the initiates into the Inner Mysteries of Christianity.

167- Eve

According to Genesis 1:1-2:4, God on the sixth day of Creation created Adam and Eve "in his own image," blessed the couple, told them to be "fruitful and multiply," and gave them dominion over all other living things. According to another part of Genesis (2:5-7, 2:15-4:1, 4:25), God, or Yahweh, created Adam and gave him the primeval Garden of Eden to tend but ordered him not to eat of the fruit of the "tree of knowledge of good and evil." God created other animals, put Adam to sleep, took from him a rib, and created a new companion, Eve. The two were persons of innocence until Eve yielded to the temptations of the evil serpent and Adam joined her in eating the forbidden fruit. Immediately, God recognized their transgression and proclaimed their punishments -for the woman, pain in childbirth and subordination to man, and, for the man, relegation to an accursed ground with which he must toil and sweat for his subsistence. Their first children were Cain and Abel.

168- Ezekiel

Ezekiel was a priest and prophet of the 6th century BC and a contemporary of Jeremiah. The prophet was one of the captives deported to Babylonia in 597 BC, 11 years before the fall of Jerusalem. His role as prophet and spiritual leader dates from about 592 BC; his knowledge of the rites of Temple worship indicates that he was a priest before the exile. Ezekiel's role from 597 to 586 BC was that of a prophet of doom; after the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, his role became that of comforter and inspirer. With the restoration of Israel, Ezekiel became lawmaker, codifier, and designer of the form and structure of Hebrew worship.

169- Ezra

Ezra was a priest and scribe and a leading figure in the revival of Judaism in Palestine after the Babylonian Captivity. That period in the history of Israel extended from the fall of Jerusalem (586 BC) to the reconstruction in Palestine of a new Jewish state after 538 BC. He is described as the second founder (after Moses) of the Jewish nation. He was responsible for the extensive codification of the laws, including those governing Temple worship and the scriptural canon. He also contributed greatly to the eventual replacement of priests by rabbis.

171-Faustus de Melevis

Faustus of Melevis was a 4th century Manicheist. He taught in Rome, then in Carthage where he met Augustine who disliked him and his beliefs.

172- Faustus of Riez, Saint

Faustus of Riez was born circa 400 in Roman Britain and he died circa 490. He was bishop of Riez, France, and an exponent and defender of Semi-Pelagianism. In the early 5th century Faustus went to southern Gaul, where he joined the newly founded monastic community on the Îles de Lérins, of which he became the third abbot about 433. After his election as bishop of Riez (about 458) he played a leading role in the ecclesiastical life of 5th-century Gaul. Faustus' De gratia gave the final form to Semi-Pelagianism. He taught that God cannot interfere with man's freedom either before or after his conversion to Christianity, and that all faith is rooted in grace because human freedom itself is a form of grace. His doctrine was rejected by the second Council of Orange (France) in 529.

173- Firmicus Maternus

Firmicus Maternus (died about 360 AD) was a Roman astrologer of the fourth century AD who wrote the Matheseos libri ("Books on Astrology") (circa 335). It was written in Latin whereas most astrological texts of the Roman Empire were written in Greek. Julius Firmicus Maternus, was a Pagan converted late in life to Christianity. He wrote a diatribe against paganism in which he asked the state to employ force to repress it and its immoralities.

174- Firmilian of Caesarea

Firmilian of Caesarea who died about 269 was one of the best-liked bishops (circa 230) of the East. Only his letter to Cyprian concerning baptism remains. In it he says that those baptised by heretics should be baptised again. A great admirer of Origen he presided the First Synod of Antioch (264) that condemned Paul of Samosata.

175- Flora

Flora was a Roman Christian woman. She received a letter from the Valentinian Gnostic Ptolemy that is included in Epiphanius' writings.

176- Francis of Assisi (Saint)

Francis was born in 1181/82 at Assisi, Duchy of Spoleto and he died on October 3, 1226 also at Assisi. He was canonised on July 15, 1228. His fraternal charity, consecration to poverty, and dynamic leadership drew thousands of followers and made him one of the most venerated religious figures. Francis was the son of Pietro di Bernardone, a cloth merchant, and the lady Pica. Francis learned to read and write Latin at the school near the church of S. Giorgio and later he learned some French language and literature, especially of the troubadours. His youth was characterised by a love of life and a spirit of worldliness. In 1202 he took part in a war between Assisi and Perugia, was held prisoner for almost a year, and on his release fell seriously ill. After his recovery, he attempted to join the papal forces under Count Gentile against Frederick II in Apulia in late 1205. At Spoleto he had a vision or dream that made him return to Assisi and await a call to a new kind of knighthood. There he began to give himself to solitude and prayer so that he might know the will of God for him. Several other episodes make up what is called his conversion:

- A vision of Christ while he prayed in a grotto near Assisi.

- An experience of poverty during a pilgrimage to Rome, where, in rags, he lived with the beggars.

- An incident in which he gave alms to a leper and kissed his hand.

One day at the ruined chapel of S. Damiano outside the gate of Assisi, he heard the crucifix above the altar command him: "Go, Francis, and repair my house which, as you see, is well-nigh in ruins." At home he old all the cloth in his father's shop as well as the horse. He then gave the money to the priest at San Damiano. Angered, his father brought him before the civil authorities. When Francis refused to answer the summons, his father called him before the Bishop where he said: "Until now I have called you my father on earth. But now I can truly say: Our Father who art in heaven." The astonished bishop gave him a cloak, and Francis went off to the woods of Mount Subasio above the city.

Francis had renounced material goods and family ties for a life of poverty. He repaired the church of San Damiano, restored a chapel dedicated to St. Peter the Apostle and then restored the now-famous little chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, the Porziuncola, on the plain below Assisi. He became a bishop and founded the order of the Franciscans.

177- Gaius of Rome

Gaius of Rome (3d century AD) was a presbyter during the time of Bishop Zephyrinus and an opponent to the Montanists.

178- Gelasius I, Saint

Gelasius I was probably born in Africa; he died on November 19, 496, in Rome. He was pope from 492 to 496, succeeding St. Felix III in March 492. Gelasius combated the Eastern Acacian Schism of Patriarch Acacius. This resulted from Rome's refusal to accept the Henotikon -a peace formula designed by the Eastern Roman emperor Zeno to reconcile the dissident Monophysites (heretical doctrine that the human and divine in Christ constitute one nature). Gelasius maintained papal authority, making him one of the great architects of Roman primacy in ecclesiastical affairs. He wrote more than 100 treatises and letters; one of the most celebrated was addressed to Zeno's successor, Anastasius I. Gelasius' doctrine that both sacred and civil power are of divine origin and independent, each in its own sphere, was very progressive; the following history of the papacy probably would have been different if his ideas had prevailed. Among his acts, in 494 he changed the Lupercalia, a Roman pagan festival, into the feast of the Purification.

179- Gelasius of Caesarea

Gelasius of Caesarea who died about 395 AD became Bishop of Caesarea around 367. He was a nephew of Cyril of Jerusalem. Expelled from his see due to his agreement with the Nicene theology during Valens' reign; he was restored when Theodosius became emperor in 379.

180- George of Cappadocia

George of Cappadocia was born in Lydda, Palestine (Now Lod, Israel) and he died December 24, 361 at Alexandria, Egypt. He was a learned Arian prelate, one of Julian the Apostate's Christian tutors. He was imposed on the see of Alexandria during the third exile of Athanasius the Great whom the Roman emperor Constantius II had exiled for attacking Arianism. As an extreme Arian, George was disliked by the orthodox and the Semi-Arians. A violent and avaricious man, he insulted, persecuted, and plundered orthodox and pagan alike. He was killed by a mob when Julian became emperor in 361.

181- George of Laodicea

George of Laodicea was born in Alexandria, Egypt and he died circa 361 at Laodicea, Syria. He was bishop of Laodicea and one a promoter of the homoiousian (moderate Arian) theological position of the early Christian church. George was ordained in Alexandria by Bishop Alexander; he was excommunicated for immorality and advocacy of Arianism. He failed to reconcile Arius with Alexander. Appointed bishop of Laodicea (circa 335), he attended numerous synods in the following decades. As an advocate of the homoiousian theology, he opposed the orthodox bishop Athanasius the Great of Alexandria. He protected Bishop Eusebius of Emesa during his exile for being a semi-Arian and wrote a biography of him, of which fragments are extant. A defence of the homoiousian doctrine, which he composed in conjunction with Bishop Basil of Ancyra (now Ankara, Turkey) and others, was preserved by Bishop St. Epiphanius of Constantia (now Salamis, Cyprus).

182- George, Saint

George lived in the 3rd century and, according to the tradition, he died at Lydda, Palestine (now Lod, Israel). He was an early Christian martyr who during the Middle Ages became an ideal of martial valour and selflessness. He is the patron saint of England. Nothing of George's life or deeds can be established; legends describe him as a warrior-saint. Jacob de Voragine's Legenda aurea (1265-66; Golden Legend) tells the story of his rescuing a Libyan king's daughter from a dragon and then slaying the monster in return for a promise by the king's subjects to be baptized. George's slaying of the dragon may be a Christian version of the legend of Perseus, who was said to have rescued Andromeda from a sea monster near Lydda. George was known in England by at least the 8th century and returning crusaders popularised his cult. He was probably recognized as England's patron saint by King Edward III (reigned 1327-77) who made him the patron of the newly founded Order of the Garter. He was also adopted as protector of several other medieval powers, including Portugal, Genoa, and Venice.

183- Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born on August 28, 1749 at Frankfurt am Main, Germany and he died on March 22, 1832 at Weimar, Saxe-Weimar. Goethe was a German poet, novelist, playwright, and natural philosopher, a great figure of the German Romantic period and literature, and a giant of world literature. His wrote 14 volumes on science. He wrote on a variety of theme and style; in fiction he ranged from fairy tales through poetic concentration in his shorter novels and Novellen (novellas) to the "open," symbolic form of Wilhelm Meister; in the theatre, from historical, political, or psychological plays in prose through blank-verse drama to his Faust. Its final couplet, "Das Ewig-Weibliche/Zieht uns hinan" ("Eternal Womanhood/Leads us on high"), epitomizes his own feeling about the central polarity of human existence: woman was to him at once man's energizer and his civiliser, source of creative life and focus of the highest endeavours of both mind and spirit.

184- Gregory of Nazianzus, Saint

Gregory of Nazianzus was born circa 330 at Arianzus in Cappadocia, Asia Minor [now in Turkey] and he died circa 389 at Arianzus. He was a 4th-century Church Father whose defence of the doctrine of the Trinity (God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) made him one of the greatest champions of orthodoxy against Arianism. Gregory grew up in a Christian and clerical family; he received a classical as well as religious education, studying first at Caesarea, briefly at Alexandria, and finally at Athens (c. AD 351-356). He was a close friend of Basil, his fellow student. After returning to Cappadocia, Gregory joined the monastic community that Basil had founded at Annesi in Pontus. To preserve the thought of Origen, many of whose speculative views were under attack, the two friends collaborated in editing the Philocalia, an anthology of theological and devotional selections from the works of Origen. In 362 Gregory accepted ordination to the priesthood to assist his father. For the next 10 years he worked at Nazianzus supporting Basil -who was first presbyter and, from 370 to 379, bishop of Caesarea- in his struggles with personal rivals, with Arians, and with the Arian emperor Valens. Gregory, under pressure from Basil, accepted consecration (372) to the episcopate of Sasima but he never took possession of the bishopric. He briefly administered the church of Nazianzus again after his father's death. The death of Valens in 378 ended the imperial patronage of Arianism, and after Basil died on the following January 1, Gregory became the spokesman in Asia Minor of the Nicene party. Among the sermons he preached there, the Five Theological Orations are a striking presentation of trinitarian doctrine. When the new emperor, Theodosius, came east in 380, the Arian bishop of Constantinople, Demophilus, was expelled, and Gregory was able to take over the Great Church. Bishop Timothy of Alexandria challenged him on technical grounds. The council supported his policy, condemning old and new heresies, denying all validity to the consecration of Maximus, and forbidding bishops to interfere outside their own areas of authority. It endorsed the trinitarian doctrine of three equal Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) as taught by Gregory. His writings of the period include a long autobiographical poem (commonly referred to as Carmen de se ipso, "Song Concerning One-self ") and many short poems, mostly on religious subjects. Gregory was one of the Cappadocians'Fathers with Basil and Gregory of Nyssa; together they continued to develop the Gnostic mystical philosophy of Origen.

185- Gregory of Nyssa

Gregory of Nyssa was born circa 335 at Caesarea, Asia Minor and he died circa 394. He was a philosophical theologian and mystic, and a leader of the orthodox party in the 4th-century Christian controversies over the doctrine of the Trinity. He wrote many theological, mystical, and monastic works in which he balanced Platonic and Christian traditions. Gregory was educated in his native province but was more deeply influenced by his philosophical training than by the other two Cappadocian Fathers of the Church, his brother Basil of Caesarea and their friend Gregory of Nazianzus. He was first a teacher of rhetoric and may have been married but this is not certain. In the 360s he turned to religious studies and Christian devotion, perhaps even to the monastic life, under Basil's inspiration and guidance. As part of Basil's struggle with Bishop Anthimus of Tyana, Gregory was consecrated as bishop of Nyssa a town that Basil wished to retain in his ecclesiastical jurisdiction. In 375 Gregory was accused of mal-administration and he was deposed in 376 by a synod of bishops and banished. But on Valens' death in 378 his congregation welcomed him back. In 379 he attended a council at Antioch and was sent on a special mission to the churches of Arabia. In 381 he took part in the General (second ecumenical) Council at Constantinople. Gregory declined election to the important bishopric of Sebaste. Under Nectarius, the successor of Gregory of Nazianzus at Constantinople, Gregory of Nyssa was the leading orthodox theologian of the church in Asia Minor in the struggle against the Arians. Gregory completed Basil's Hexaëmeron ("Six Days"), sermons on the days of the Creation, with The Creation of Man, and he produced a classic outline of orthodox theology in his Great Catechesis (or Address on Religious Instruction). His brief treatise On Not Three Gods relates the Cappadocian Fathers' theology of three Persons in the Godhead (i.e., the Trinity) to Plato's teachings of the One and the Many. As a Christian Platonist, Gregory followed the great Alexandrian theologian Origen; he shared Origen's conviction that man's material nature is a result of the fall and also Origen's hope for ultimate universal salvation. Platonic and Christian inspiration combine in Gregory's ascetic and mystical writings. His Life of Macrina blends biography with instruction in the monastic life. On Virginity and other treatises on the ascetic life are crowned by the mystical Life of Moses. A notable emphasis of Gregory's teaching is the principle that the spiritual life is not one of static perfection but of constant progress. Gregory's attacks on usury and on the postponement of Baptism, deal with ethical problems of the church in his time. His more intimate discourses on the Lord's Prayer and the Beatitudes combine ethical and devotional interests, as does his commentary on the Song of Solomon. Gregory was one of the Cappadocians'Fathers with Basil and Gregory of Nazianzum; together they continued to develop the Gnostic mystical philosophy of Origen.

186- Gregory Thaumaturgus

See Thaumaturgus Gregory

187- Habakkuk

Habakkuk was the 8th of the minor twelve prophets. He flourished about 612-597 BC but very little is known about his life, and these dates are fixed by the reference he made in his book to the coming of the Chaldeans, an event that took place around 597 BC.

188- Hadrian

Hadrian (76-138) AD) was a Roman Emperor (117-138) who did not persecute the Christians. In 132 he began to rebuild Jerusalem as a Greek city but Simon bar Kosiba started a revolt that lasted three and one half years and ended by the Roman victory. His reign was devoted to unifying the empire.

189- Haggai

Haggai was one of the twelve Minor Prophets. Little is known of the life and person of this prophet except that he lived in the 6th century BC, helped mobilize the Jewish community for the rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem (516 BC) after the Babylonian Exile, and prophesied the glorious future of the messianic age. Haggai is the author of the tenth part of the twelve short prophetic books of the Old Testament known as the Minor Prophets because of their brevity.

190- Hammurabi

Hammurabi flourished in the 18th century BC. He became king of Babylonia, and the greatest ruler in the first Babylonian dynasty. He extended his empire northward from the Persian Gulf through the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys and westward to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. After consolidating his gains under a central government at Babylon, he devoted his energies to protecting his frontiers and fostering the internal prosperity of the empire. Throughout his long reign he personally supervised navigation, irrigation, agriculture, tax collection, and the erection of many temples and other buildings. Although he was a successful military leader and administrator, Hammurabi is primarily remembered for his codification of the laws governing Babylonian life.

191- Hegesippus (Saint)

Hegesippus (2nd century AD) was a Greek Christian Orthodox historian who opposed the heresy of Gnosticism. His single known work, five books of memoirs, constitutes a prime source on the organizational structure and theological ferment of the primitive Christian church. Probably of Jewish descent, Hegesippus c. 180 composed his memoirs, containing a mélange of historical, doctrinal, polemical, and catechetical interpolations. In his memoirs he noted the succession of Roman bishops down to Pope Eleutherius (174-189), accenting, however, their doctrine rather than the chronology of succession. The preservation of segments of his memoirs by the 4th-century historian Eusebius of Caesarea provides the most direct existing witness to the primitive church of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian Christianity as a result of the anti-Jewish pogrom conducted after AD 70 by the Roman emperors Vespasian and Domitian.

192- Helena (Saint)

Helena was the Roman emperor Constantius I Chlorus's wife who divorced her for political reasons. When her son Constantine I the Great became emperor at York (306), he made her empress dowager. She later became a Christian. Helena made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. She had churches built on the sites of the nativity and of the Ascension. Before 337 a legend said that Christ's cross had been found during the building of Constantine's church on Golgotha in Jerusalem, and Helena was credited with the discovery.

193- Heliodorus of Emesa

Heliodorus was a 3rd century AD Greek priest and writer from Emesa in Syria, author of the Aethiopica, the longest and most readable of the existing ancient Greek novels. The Aethiopica tells the story of an Ethiopian princess and a Thessalian prince who undergo a series of perils (battles, voyages, piracy, abductions, robbery, and torture) before their eventual happy marriage. The Aethiopica is pervaded throughout with the author's deep religious faith, which centres in the book on the sun god Helios, who is identified with Apollo.

194- Helvidius

Helvidius was a Roman churchman of the 4th century AD and a disciple of Auxentius, the Arian Bishop of Milan. He denied the perpetual virginity of Mary. He believed that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Mary being a virgin. However, afterwards, she lived a normal married life with Joseph, giving birth to other sons. Jerome disagreed with him in "Adversus Helvidium" and "De perpetua virginitate Beatae Mariae".

195- Heraclas

According to Porphyry, Origen attended lectures given by Ammonius Saccas, the founder of Neoplatonism. There he met Heraclas, who was to become his junior colleague, then his rival, and who was to end as bishop of Alexandria refusing to hold communion with him. Origen invited Heraclas to assist him with the elementary teaching at the Catechetical school, leaving himself free for advanced teaching and study.

196- Heracleon

Heracleon was a second century AD leader of the Italian (Roman) school of Gnosticism. Diverging from his contemporaries Valentinus (of whom he was initially a disciple) and Ptolemy, Heracleon sought a conservative expression of Gnosticism divested of radical oriental theories. In the first known exegetical commentary on the Gospel According to St. John, he expounded with allegorical emphasis his central doctrine of the three levels of being:

The superior or "pneumatic" category (Greek: "spirit") comprising the "plenitude" of the Father.

Christ as the incarnate form of a fallen spirit or demiurge representing the "psychic" level that is intermediate between

The base level of the material world formed by the demigod of evil.

Heracleon wrote on the Gnostic tradition of using their philosophical theory in their sacramental rites of initiation and in their use of early Christian literature.

197- Heracles

Herakles (the Roman Hercules) is a Greco-Roman legendary hero but he was probably a real man. Traditionally Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene, granddaughter of Perseus. Zeus swore that the next son born of the Perseid house should become ruler of Greece, but by a trick of Zeus's jealous wife, Hera, another child, the sickly Eurystheus, was born first and became king; when Heracles grew up, he had to serve him and also suffer the vengeful persecution of Hera. His first exploit was the strangling of two serpents that she had sent to kill him in his cradle. Later, Heracles waged a victorious war against the kingdom of Orchomenus in Boeotia and married Megara, one of the royal princesses. But he killed her and their children in a fit of madness sent by Hera and was obliged to become the servant of Eurystheus. Eurystheus imposed upon Heracles the famous twelve Labours: (1) the slaying of the Nemean lion; (2) the slaying of the nine-headed Hydra of Lerna; (3) the capture of the elusive hind (or stag) of Arcadia; (4) the capture of the wild boar of Mount Erymanthus; (5) the cleansing, in a single day, of the cattle stables of King Augeas; (6) the shooting of the monstrous man-eating birds of the Stymphalian marshes; (7) the capture of the mad bull that terrorized the island of Crete; (8) the capture of the man-eating mares of King Diomedes; (9) the taking of the girdle of Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons; (10) the seizing of the cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon, who ruled the island Erytheia; (11) the bringing back of the golden apples kept at the world's end by the Hesperides; and (12) the fetching up from the lower world of the triple-headed dog Cerberus, guardian of its gates. Later on Heracles successfully fought the river god Achelous for the hand of Deianeira. The Centaur Nessus tried to violate her, and Heracles shot him with one poisoned arrows. The Centaur, dying, told Deianeira to preserve the blood from his wound, for anyone wearing a garment rubbed with it would love her forever. Years later Heracles fell in love with Iole, daughter of Eurytus, king of Oechalia. Deianeira sent Heracles a garment smeared with the blood of Nessus. The blood proved to be a powerful poison, and Heracles died. His body was placed on a pyre on Mt. Oeta, his mortal part consumed and his divine part ascending to heaven. There he was reconciled to Hera and married Hebe.

198- Heraclides

Heraclides (Ponticus Heracleides) was a Greek philosopher of the 4th century AD. He was born in Heraclea, Pontus. According to the tradition he was the first to explain that the apparent rotation of the heavens is brought about by rotation of the earth on its axis rather than by the passage of stars around the earth.

199- Heraclitus

Heraclitus (or Heracleitus) was born in about 540 BC at Ephesus, in Anatolia and died around 480. He was a Greek mystic philosopher remembered for his cosmology, in which fire forms the basic material principle of an orderly universe. He wrote about the Word of God (Logos). Little is known about his life, and the one book he apparently wrote is lost. His views survive in the short fragments quoted and attributed to him by later authors. Though he was primarily concerned with explanations of the world around him, Heraclitus also stressed the need for men to live together in social harmony. A significant manifestation of the logos, Heraclitus claimed, is the underlying connection between opposites. For example, health and disease define each other. Good and evil, hot and cold, and other opposites are similarly related. His understanding of the relation of opposites to each other enabled him to overcome the chaotic and divergent nature of the world, and he asserted that the world exists as a coherent system in which a change in one direction is ultimately balanced by a corresponding change in another. "Viewing fire as the essential material uniting all things, Heraclitus wrote that the world order is an "ever-living fire kindling in measures and being extinguished in measures." The resulting dynamic equilibrium maintains an orderly balance in the world. Heraclitus was unpopular in his time and was frequently scorned by later biographers.

200- Hercules

Hercules, the Roman name for the Greek hero Heracles, is a hero in Greek mythology noted for his strength and courage and for his legendary exploits. He was the son of the god Zeus and Alcmene, wife of the Theban general Amphitryon. Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, wanted to kill Hercules, and shortly after his' birth she sent two great serpents to destroy him. Hercules, although still a baby, strangled the snakes. As a young man Hercules killed a lion with his bare hands. The hero next conquered a tribe that had been exacting tribute from Thebes. As a reward, he was given the hand of the Theban princess Megara, by whom he had three children. Hera, still hating Hercules, sent a fit of madness upon him during which he killed his wife and children. In horror and remorse at his deed Hercules would have slain himself, but the oracle at Delphi told him that he should purge himself by becoming the servant of his cousin Eurystheus, king of Mycenae. Eurystheus, urged on by Hera, devised as a penance the 12 difficult tasks, the "Labours of Hercules."

Hercules later married Deianira, whom he won from Antaeus, son of the sea god Poseidon. When the centaur Nessus attacked Deianira, Hercules wounded him with an arrow that he had poisoned in the blood of the Hydra. The dying centaur told Deianira to take some of his blood, which he said was a love charm but instead was a poison. Believing that Hercules was in love with the princess Iole, Deianira sent him a tunic dipped in the blood. When he put it on, the pain was so great that he killed himself. After death he was brought by the gods to Olympus and married to Hebe, goddess of youth. The Greeks worshipped Hercules as both a god and a mortal hero.

201- Hermas

Hermas is known only through the autobiographical details given in his main work, the Shepherd. A Christian slave who was given his freedom, he became a wealthy merchant, lost his property, and did penance for past sins. The Muratorian Canon, the oldest (c. 180) extant list of New Testament writings, asserts that he was a brother of Pope Pius I (d. 155). The Shepherd records five visions experienced by Hermas, and it is named for the angel of repentance who appeared in the fifth vision dressed as a shepherd. The work also contains 12 mandates (moral commandments) and 10 similitudes (parables). The basic theme is that post-baptismal sin can be forgiven at least once and that a day of repentance is coming, after which sins cannot be forgiven. The work is dealing with morals rather than theology and is representative of the Roman Jewish Christianity of the 2nd century. Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Tertullian regarded it as scripture; but the Muratorian Canon denied that it was inspired, and St. Jerome stated that it was known very little in the Western Church. Much more popular in the Eastern Church, the work is contained in the 4th-century Codex Sinaiticus of the Greek Bible.

202- Hermes or Hermes Trimegistos

Hermes was a Greek god, son of Zeus and Maia often identified with the Roman Mercury. The earliest centre of his cult was probably Arcadia and Mount Cyllene was reputed to be his birthplace. There he was worshipped as the god of fertility. Hermes was also associated with the protection of cattle, sheep and vegetation. In the Odyssey, however, he appears mainly as the messenger of the gods and the conductor of the dead to Hades. Hermes was also a dream god, and the Greeks offered to him the last libation before sleep. As a messenger, he may also have become the god of roads and doorways, and he was the protector of travellers. Treasure casually found was his gift, and any stroke of good luck was attributed to him. In many respects he was Apollo's counterpart. He was also god of eloquence and presided over some kinds of popular divination. The sacred number of Hermes was four, and the fourth day of the month was his birthday. In archaic art he was portrayed as a full-grown and bearded man, clothed in a long tunic and often wearing a cap and winged boots. Sometimes he was represented in his pastoral character, bearing a sheep on his shoulders; at other times he appeared as the messenger of the gods with the kerykeion, or herald's staff, which was his most frequent attribute. From the latter part of the 5th century BC he was portrayed as a nude and beardless youth, a young athlete. Hermes Trismegistus ('the thrice-great Hermes') is the Greek name for the Egyptian god Thoth. In Islam, Hermes Trismegistus is a thrice-incarnated figure, traces of which also exist in Egyptian legends. Hermes-Thoth was but one of the gods and prophets to whom men turned for a divinely revealed wisdom. Initially the works ascribed to Hermes Trismegistos were primarily on astrology but later treatises on medicine, alchemy and magic were added.

203- Herod Antipas

Herod Antipas (21 BC-AD 39) was the son of Herod the Great and the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea (4 BC-AD 39). Little is known of his reign but he appears to have governed well. Antipas possessed the cunning of his father but lacked his diplomacy and talent for war. He divorced his first wife, the daughter of Aretas IV, king of the Nabataeans, and married Herodias, former wife of his half brother Herod. John the Baptist, whose execution Antipas ordered at the request of Herodias through her daughter, Salome, censured him for his marriage. Later, to please his wife, Antipas went to Rome and demanded of Emperor Caligula that he be given the title of king. Instead, Caligula deposed and banished him to Lugdunum (Lyon) in Gaul. It was to him that Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea, sent Jesus Christ.

204- Herod Archelaus

Archelaus was the son of Herod the Great from whom he inherited Judea, Samaria and Idumaea.

205- Herod Philip

Herod Philip was the son of Herod the Great from whom he inherited the princedom of Batanaea, Trachonitis, Ituraea and Auranitis.

206- Herod the Great

Herod the Great (73-4 BC) was the Roman-backed king of Judea (37-4 BC), portrayed as a tyrant in Christian and Jewish tradition. He was a practicing Jew but he was hated by them as a foreigner and a friend of the Romans. According to Matthew 2:16 he tried to kill the infant Jesus by massacring all the male babies in Bethlehem.

Herod was born in southern Palestine, of Arab origin. The Roman Senate recognized Herod as king in 39 BC. He then married Mariamne, a Jewish princess of the Hasmonaean line, whom he later put to death.

The first years of Herod's reign were troubled by hostility between two Jewish sects, the Sadducees and Pharisees, and by the enmity of surviving members of the Hasmonaean. Herod ultimately prevailed against his adversaries and Octavius confirmed him as king in 31 BC. Herod's political enemies were then suppressed.

During the years from 25 to 13 BC Herod launched many architectural projects, including the construction at Jerusalem, Jericho, and Caesarea of theatres, amphitheatres, and hippodromes. To protect the Judean frontier against the Arabs, he built or restored many fortresses, used later by the Jews in their insurrection against Rome. He began the rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem. When he died at Jericho in March or April of the year 4 BC, Herod's kingdom was divided among three of his sons-Herod Antipas, Archelaus, and Herod Philip.

207- Herodias

Herodias was the second wife of Herod Antipas, who was tetrarch of Galilee from 4 BC to AD 39. She was responsible for the execution of John the Baptist. Her marriage to Herod Antipas (himself divorced), after her divorce from his half-brother, was censured by John. Herodias wanted John killed but Herod refused, fearing the man. On Herod's birthday celebration, Salome (Herodias' daughter by her first husband) performed a dance that pleased Herod; he offered to grant her anything she wanted. Prompted by her mother, Salome asked for John's head on a platter, a wish Herod had to fulfil. Herodias also urged her husband to discredit her brother Herod Agrippa I, who had recently received the tetrarchy of Batanaea and Trachonitis. Their efforts antagonized the emperor Caligula and they were banished in AD 39, the year when she died.

208- Herodotus

The Greek Herodotus was born about 484 BC in Halicarnassus, Asia Minor (now Bodrum, Turkey) and he died about 430. Halicarnassus was under Persian rule when Herodotus was born. He wrote the History of the Greco-Persian Wars. He is thought to have resided in Athens and to have met Sophocles and then to have left for Thurii, a new colony in southern Italy sponsored by Athens. There is good reason to believe that he was in Athens, or at least in central Greece, during the early years of the Peloponnesian War, from 431, and that his work was published and known there before 425. Herodotus travelled through a large part of the Persian Empire: he went to Egypt, Libya, Syria, Babylonia, Susa in Elam, Lydia, Phrygia, up the Hellespont to Byzantium, Thrace, Macedonia, and he travelled northward to beyond the Danube and to Scythia eastward along the northern shores of the Black Sea as far as the Don River. These travels would have taken many years.

209- Hesiod

Hesiod lived around 700 BC; he is one of the earliest Greek poets, often called the "father of Greek didactic poetry." Two of his complete epics have survived, the Theogony, relating the myths of the gods, and the Works and Days, describing peasant life. Not a great deal is known about the details of Hesiod's life. He was a native of Boeotia, a district of central Greece to which his father had migrated from Cyme in Asia Minor. He himself attributes his poetic gifts to the Muses, who appeared to him while he was tending his sheep; giving him a poet's staff and endowing him with a poet's voice, they bade him "sing of the race of the blessed gods immortal." His epics won renown during his lifetime.

210- Hesse, Hermann

Hesse was born on July 2, 1877 at Calw, Germany and he died on Aug. 9, 1962 at Montagnola, Switzerland. He was a German novelist, poet, and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946. His main theme deals with man's breaking out of the established modes of civilization to find his essential spirit. Hesse posthumously became a cult figure to young people in the English-speaking world. Hesse entered the Maulbronn seminary but he was unable to adapt. He was then apprenticed in a Calw tower-clock factory and later in a Tübingen bookstore. Hesse remained in the bookselling business until 1904, when he became a free-lance writer and brought out his first novel, Peter Camenzind, about a failed and dissipated writer. The inward and outward search of the artist is further explored in Gertrud (1910) and Rosshalde (1914). During World War I, Hesse lived in Switzerland, wrote denunciations of militarism and nationalism. He became a permanent resident of Switzerland in 1919 and a citizen in 1923, settling in Montagnola. Demian (1919) is an examination of the achievement of self-awareness by a troubled adolescent. The duality of man's nature preoccupied Hesse throughout the rest of his career. Der Steppenwolf (1927; Steppenwolf) describes the conflict between bourgeois acceptance and spiritual self-realization in a middle-aged man. In Narziss und Goldmund (1930; Narcissus and Goldmund), an intellectual ascetic who is content with established religious faith is contrasted with an artistic sensualist pursuing his own form of salvation. In his last and longest novel, Das Glasperlenspiel (1943; English titles The Glass Bead Game, or Magister Ludi), Hesse again explores the dualism of the contemplative and the active life.

211- Hilary of Poitiers, Saint

Hilary of Poitiers was born circa 315 at Poitiers, Gaul and he died there about 367. He was a champion of orthodoxy against Arianism and was the first Latin writer to introduce Greek doctrine to Western Christendom. A convert from Neoplatonism, Hilary was elected bishop of Poitiers (circa 353). He was exiled (356-360) to Phrygia by the Roman emperor Constantius II for not condemning the leading opponent of Arianism, St. Athanasius the Great, at the Council of Béziers (356). While in Phrygia, he wrote De trinitate, the first work in Latin to deal with the issues of the Trinitarian controversies. In De synodis ("Concerning the Synods") he explained the history of the Arian controversy and asked the faithful in the East to rally against those who believed the Son was unlike the Father. His appeals to Constantius were unsuccessful, and he was expelled from the East. Returning to Poitiers, he spent his last years combating Arianism in Gaul and writing his commentary on the Psalms and Tractatus mysteriorum on typology. His defence of orthodoxy earned him the title of the Athanasius of the West.

212- Hippolytus of Rome, Saint

St Hippolytus (about 170-235) was considered the most important 3rd-century Literalist theologian of the Roman church and a heresy-hunter. Born probably in the Greek-speaking East, Hippolytus appears to have come to Rome during the reign of Saint Victor I in the last decade of the second century. He soon became the leading intellectual of the Roman church; when the eminent theologian Origen visited Rome, he attended one of Hippolytus's sermons. Hippolytus took an active part in combating Modal Monarchianism, which denied the reality of distinctions between the persons of the Trinity. A fierce controversialist, he denounced both Pope Zephyrinus and his adviser, who would become Pope Callistus I, for laxity in enforcing church discipline, and he accused them of modalist tendencies in their Christology. Zephyrinus and Callistus in turn denounced Hippolytus for the ditheism latent in the theology he had adopted from Saint Justin Martyr. In 217 after the election of Callistus as successor to Zephyrinus, Hippolytus challenged the papal election and declared himself the first antipope. He treated Callistus as a misguided factional leader and attempted to realize his own vision of the church as an ideal community of saints. After the death of Callistus, Hippolytus perpetuated the schism with attacks on Pope Urban I and Pope Pontian. Around 235, during the reign of Emperor Maximinus, both Hippolytus and Pontian were arrested and sent to the mines of Sardinia, where they died. Because Hippolytus wrote in Greek, the bulk of his works was lost and his history became confused in the Latin West. Both Eusebius of Caesarea and Saint Jerome made reference to him as a prolific author and a bishop, but they were unable to identify his Episcopal see. The most famous of the works attributed to Hippolytus is the Refutation of All Heresies.

213- Hiram

Hiram, King of Tyre, was the son and successor of Abibaal. He reigned during the 10th century BC and was on friendly terms with King David to whom he sent material and workmen to help him built his palace. He was also friendly with David's successor, Solomon, to whom he also sent material and men to help in the building of the Jerusalem Temple in exchange of corn and oil. A stonemason also called Hiram is a main actor in the Freemason rituals

214- Homer

Homer lived between the 9th and 7th century BC possibly in Ionia (now in Turkey). He is assumed to be the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Little is known of him except that the Greeks attached his name to these two poems in antiquity. If he effectively wrote these two poems then Homer was one of the greatest literary artists of the whole world. He is also one of the most influential authors for the two epics provided the basis of Greek education and culture throughout the classical age and down to the time of the Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity. The Homeric epics had a profound impact on the Renaissance culture of Italy. Since then the proliferation of translations has helped to make them the most important poems of the classical European tradition. It was probably through their impact on classical Greek culture itself that the Iliad and the Odyssey most subtly affected Western standards and ideas.

215- Horus

In ancient Egyptian religion Horus (also Hor or Har) was a god in the form of a falcon whose eyes were the sun and the moon. At Nekhen it was thought that the reigning king was a manifestation of Horus and, after Egypt had been united by the kings from Nekhen, this became a generally accepted dogma. The first of the Egyptian king's five names was the Horus name -i.e., the name that identified him with Horus. From the 1st dynasty (c. 2525-2775 BC), Horus and the god Seth were perpetual antagonists who were reconciled in the harmony of Upper and Lower Egypt. In the myth of Osiris, who became prominent about 2350 BC, Horus was the son of Osiris. He was also the opponent of Seth, who murdered Osiris and contested Horus' heritage, the royal throne of Egypt. Horus finally defeated Seth, thus avenging his father and assuming the rule. In the fight his left eye (the moon) was damaged and was healed by the god Thoth. Horus appeared as a local god in many places and under different names and epithets: for instance, as Harmakhi, "Horus in the Horizon"); Harpocrates, "Horus the Child"); Harsiesis, "Horus, Son of Isis"); Harakhte, "Horus of the Horizon," (closely associated with the sun god Re); and as Haroeris (Harwer, "Horus the Elder"). The Greeks later identified Horus with Apollo, and Edfu was called Apollinopolis ("Apollo's Town") in the Greco-Roman period. In the Ptolemaic period, the vanquishing of Seth became a symbol of Egypt triumphing over its occupiers.

216- Hosea

Hosea was a 8th century BC minor prophet and the only one of the writing prophets to have lived and prophesied in Israel, or the northern kingdom. Hosea was also the first Hebrew prophet to find in human marriage a means of expressing the spiritual relationship between God and Israel. Hosea gave his name to a book of the Old Testament.

217- Hosius of Cordoba

Hosius of Cordoba was born circa 256, probably in Cordoba, Spain, and he died in 357/358 in the same town. Hosius (or Ossius) was the Spanish bishop of Cordoba who was one of the chief defenders of orthodoxy in the West against the Donatists. Consecrated bishop of Cordoba (c. 295), Hosius attended the Council of Elvira (Granada, circa 300) and from 312 to 326 acted as ecclesiastical adviser at the court of Constantine, who in 324 sent him as imperial emissary to the East to settle the Arian dispute. Hosius convoked a synod of Egyptian bishops at Alexandria and another of Syrian bishops at Antioch. At both Arius and his followers were condemned. Hosius asked Constantine to summon the first ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325), where Hosius secured the inclusion in the Nicene Creed of the key word homoousios. In 342/343, he presided the Council of Sardica (Sofia), which the Eastern bishops boycotted because the Westerners insisted on the presence of Bishop St. Athanasius the Great, an opponent of Arianism. From 353 to 356 Hosius resisted the efforts of the Arian emperor Constantius II to have Athanasius condemned by the Western bishops and in a letter reproved Constantius for intruding into ecclesiastical matters. Summoned to Sirmium in 356 and detained at court for a year Hosius signed the Arian formula of Sirmium (357) but retracted his signature before he died.

218- Hyginus (Saint)

Hyginus was probably born in Greece and he died in Rome about 140 AD; he was pope from about 136 to about 140. He is credited with organizing the hierarchy of the clergy (Hormisdas is also assumed to have done it). His pontificate saw the beginning in Rome of the cults base on belief in esoteric knowledge of spiritual truth, later known as the Gnostic heresies.

219- Hypatia

Hypatia was born around 370 AD at Alexandria, Egypt and she died in March 415 at Alexandria. She was an Egyptian Neoplatonist philosopher who was the first notable woman in mathematics. The daughter of Theon, also a mathematician and philosopher, Hypatia became the recognized head of the Neoplatonist school of philosophy at Alexandria. She attracted a large number of pupils, among them Synesius of Cyrene, afterward bishop of Ptolemais (c. 410). Hypatia symbolized learning and science, which at that time in Western history were largely identified by the early Christians with paganism. She was a focal point in the tension and riots between Christians and non-Christians in Alexandria. After the accession of Cyril to the patriarchate of Alexandria in 412, Hypatia was barbarously murdered by the Nitrian monks and a fanatical mob of Cyril's Christian followers, supposedly because of her intimacy with Orestes, the city's pagan prefect. The departure soon afterward of many scholars marked the beginning of the decline of Alexandria as a major centre of ancient learning. According to the Suda lexicon, Hypatia wrote commentaries on the Arithmetica of Diophantus of Alexandria, on the Conics of Apollonius of Perga, and on the astronomical canon of Ptolemy. These works are lost, but it is known that she devoted herself particularly to astronomy and mathematics.

220- Iamblichus (Iamblicos)

Iamblichus was born around Ad 250 in Chalcis, Coele, Syria [now in Lebanon] and he died around 330. He was a philosopher of Neoplatonism (student of Porphyry) and the founder of its Syrian branch. He wrote, in Greek, the treatise known under the Latin name De Mysteriis (On the Egyptian Mysteries). His other works include: On the Pythagorean Life; The Exhortation to Philosophy, or Protrepticus; On the General Science of Mathematics; On the Arithmetic of Nicomachus; and Theological Principles of Arithmetic. Iamblichus has been credited with the transformation of the Neoplatonism advocated by Plotinus earlier in the 3rd century into the pagan religious philosophy, best known from the works of Proclus. Attempting to develop a theology encompassing all of the rites, myths, and divinities of syncretistic paganism, he was the first Neoplatonist to displace Plotinus' purely spiritual and intellectual mysticism in favour of theurgy, the magical conjuration of the gods. Beyond the One of Plotinus, identical with the Good, Iamblichus asserted that a higher One exists outside the range of human knowledge and qualifications. To the three existing ethical virtues of Neoplatonism -political, purifying, and exemplary- he added the contemplative virtue and placed above all four the priestly, or unifying, virtues by which men obtain ecstatic union with the One. For this Iamblichus was known for the next two centuries as "the divine," or "inspired."

221- Ignatius of Antioch (Saint)

Ignatius, surnamed Theophoros, died about 110 AD in Rome. He became the bishop of Antioch, Syria; he is known for seven letters that he wrote during a trip to Rome, as a prisoner condemned to be executed for his beliefs. He counteracted the teachings of two groups, the Judaisers, who did not accept the authority of the New Testament, and the Docetists, who held that Christ's sufferings and death were only apparent. St. Ignatius was an influential church leader and theologian known only from his own writings. There is no record of his life prior to his arrest, but his letters reveal his personality and his impact on the Christianity of his time. Ignatius represented the Christian religion in transition from its Jewish origins to its assimilation in the Greco-Roman world. He proposed a hierarchical structure for the church with strong Episcopal authority; he also described the real humanity of Christ.

222- Indra

Indra was the main Vedic god of India. A warlike, typically Aryan god, he conquered innumerable human and demon enemies, vanquished the sun, and killed the dragon Vrtra, who had prevented the monsoon from breaking. His weapons are lightning and the thunderbolt, and he is strengthened for these feats by drinks of the elixir soma, the offering of the sacrifice. In later Hinduism, Indra plays little part except in his role as god of rain, regent of the heavens, and guardian of the east. The Puranas record some rivalry between Indra and Krishna, who persuaded the cow-herders of Vraja (Braja, in modern Uttar Pradesh) to stop their worship of Indra. Enraged, he sent down torrents of rain, but Krishna lifted Mount Govardhana on his fingertip and gave the people shelter under it for seven days until Indra relented and paid him homage. Indra is father to Arjuna, hero of the Mahabharata war. Indra is sometimes referred to as "the thousand-eyed," because of the thousand marks on his body resembling eyes, a result of a curse by a sage whose wife Indra seduced.

223- Irenaeus, Saint

St Ireaneaus (Greek, "Peacemaker") (about 130/202) was born in Asia Minor, where, as a child, he heard the preaching of Saint Polycarp, the disciple of Saint John. He was a Literalist Christian and opponent of Gnosticism. Irenaeus was a Christian prelate and a Father of the Church. In 177 Irenaeus was appointed bishop of Lyon, in which office he made many converts among the Gauls. Irenaeus was an active opponent of Gnosticism. About 180 he wrote a work against the Gnostics, known as Against the Heresies; in addition to its importance as polemic, the work was the main source of information about Gnosticism until the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in 1945. In his book, Irenaeus asserted the authority of the Old Testament and of several writings that later became part of the New Testament. Saint Gregory of Tours, the 6th-century chronicler, who wrote of the sufferings of Irenaeus under Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus about 202, first mentioned him as being a martyr.

Irenaeus argued for the authority of mainstream tradition in the church. . His teaching has influenced modern theologians. He upheld the authority of bishops to decide what is true in matters of faith as a counter to Gnostic claims to know the truth. Irenaeus also developed an important doctrine called the "recapitulation of Christ," which states that the progress of human redemption is summarised in, and sanctified by, the humanity of Jesus.

224- Isaac

Isaac (Hebrew, "laughter"), an Old Testament patriarch, was the son of Abraham, half brother of Ishmael, and father of Jacob and Esau. The birth of Isaac was promised to Abraham and his wife Sarah, after a long and childless marriage, as a sign that the blessings originally bestowed by God upon Abraham would be continued in Isaac, heir of the Covenant.

The dominant story in the narrative is that of the projected sacrifice of Isaac. God tested Abraham's faith by asking him to sacrifice his beloved son. At the last moment, after God was convinced of the perfect obedience of both father and son, he accepted a ram as a substitute for the youth. This story is thought to express the Hebrew rejection of human sacrifice.

The New Testament alludes to Isaac as a precursor of Christ and of the church, and the obedience to his father to the extent of self-sacrifice is associated with that of Christ.

225- Isaiah

Isaiah was born the son of Amoz about 760 BC. He prophesied during the reign of Ahaz, king of Judah. According to tradition, Isaiah was martyred in either 701 or 690 BC. His style and the nobility of his message made him one of the most revered biblical writers and major prophets. A book of the same name is attributed to Isaiah.

226- Ishmael

Ishmael (Hebrew, "may God hear"), according to the Old Testament, was the elder son of Abraham and the ancestor of many Arabian tribes. His story is linked with that of Isaac. Ishmael's mother was Hagar, an Egyptian maid to Abraham's wife, Sarah, who was barren. In answer to her prayers, Sarah conceived a son, Isaac, and then demanded that Hagar and Ishmael be driven away. Hagar and her son fled to the south. Ishmael settled in the wilderness, married an Egyptian woman, and became the progenitor of 12 tribes of desert nomads. Muslims regard themselves as the descendents of Ishmael but maintain that Hagar was the true wife of Abraham, and Ishmael his favoured son. They further contend that Ishmael, not Isaac, was offered for sacrifice by Abraham and transfer the scene of the intended sacrifice, from Moriah, in Palestine, to Mount Arafat, near Mecca.

227- Ishtar

Ishtar was the main Mesopotanian Goddess, the equivalent of Isis in Egypt, Persephone in Greece, Cybele in Asia Minor, Aphrodite in Syria, Magna Mater in Persia and Asherad in the region around Judea.

Among the Babylonians, Ishtar was distinctly the mother goddess and was portrayed either naked and with prominent breasts or as a mother with a child at her breast

228- Isis

Isis is one of the most important goddesses of ancient Egypt. Her name is associated with a word for "throne." Little is known of Isis' early cult. In the Pyramid Texts (c. 2350-c. 2100 BC), she is the mourner for her murdered husband, the god Osiris. In her role as the wife of Osiris, she discovered and reunited the pieces of her dead husband's body, was the chief mourner at his funeral, and through her magical power brought him back to life in the underworld. Isis hid her son, Horus, from Seth, the murderer of Osiris, until Horus was fully grown and could avenge his father. She and Horus were regarded by the Egyptians as the perfect mother and son. She was invoked on behalf of the sick, and, with the goddesses Nephthys, Neith, and Selket, she protected the dead. As mourner, she was a principal deity in all rites connected with the dead; as magician, she cured the sick and brought the dead to life; and, as mother, she was herself a life-giver. Several temples were dedicated to her in Alexandria, where she became the "patroness of seafarers." From Alexandria her cult was brought to all the shores of the Mediterranean, including Greece and Rome.

229- Jacob

Jacob, in the Old Testament, was a Hebrew patriarch, the son of Isaac and Rebekah, and the grandson of Abraham. After depriving his brother Esau of their father's blessing and of his birthright by trickery, Jacob fled to his uncle Laban's house where he married Laban's daughters, Leah and Rachel. His wives and their maids, Zilpah and Bilhah, bore him 12 sons, who became the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel. Leah bore Issachar, Judah, Levi, Reuben, Simeon, and Zebulun; Rachel bore Joseph and Benjamin; Zilpah bore Gad and Asher; and Bilhah bore Dan and Naphtali.

Outstanding event in Jacob's life were the bestowal of the name Israel upon him. As a result Jacob, or Israel, personifies the nation of Israel.

230- Jacob of Nisibis

Jacob of Nisibis who died in 338 was the Bishop of Nisibis and the teacher of Ephraem Syrus. An ascetic, he participated at the Nicaea Council as an opponent to the Arians.

231- James

James, the son of Zebedee a Galilean fisherman and the elder brother of John, was one of the twelve Apostles. James and John's mother was Salome, the Virgin Mary's sister, and this made them Jesus' cousins. Herod Agrippa murdered him.

232- James (Saint)

James who died in AD 62 at Jerusalem was Lord Jesus' Brother and a Christian apostle, according to St. Paul, although not one of the original Twelve Apostles. He was leader of the Jerusalem Christians, and with Saints Peter and John the Evangelist, one of "the pillars of the church. He is mentioned in the Gospels as one of Jesus' four brothers. Hypotheses have been forwarded that James and Jesus were brothers, stepbrothers, or cousins. James evidently was not a follower of Jesus during his public ministry. Paul attributes James's later conversion to the appearance of Christ resurrected. Three years after Paul's conversion, James was an important leader in the Jerusalem church. He was more important after King Herod Agrippa I of Judaea in about AD 44 beheaded the Apostle St. James, son of Zebedee, and after Peter fled from Jerusalem. He was the chief spokesman for the Jerusalem church at the Council of Jerusalem regarding Paul's mission to the Gentiles and final visit to Jerusalem. Later tradition says that James was called "the Just" and was noted for his fulfilment of Jewish law. Though opposing those Jewish Christians who required that Gentile Christians submit to Jewish Law, including circumcision, he believed Jewish Christians should continue loyalty to Jewish practice and piety. His popularity is evident in the Jews' anger when priestly authorities had James put to death, by stoning or by being thrown from a Temple tower. The early church designates him the first bishop of Jerusalem, though the title is not used in the New Testament.

233- Jehovah

The evidence of the Greek Church fathers shows the forms Jabe and Jâo to be traditional, as well as the shortened Hebrew forms of the words Jah (see Psalms 68:4, for example) and Jahu (in proper names). It indicates that the name was originally spoken Jaweh or Yahwe (often spelled Yahweh in modern usage. Jehovah is a form of Yahweh, the sacred Hebrew name for God. God first revealed the name Yahweh to the Israelite leader Moses (Exodus 3:14). Jews thought the name Yahweh was too holy to pronounce. By the 200's B.C., they were using the word Adonai (Lord) as a respectful substitute when reading from the scriptures. When Adonai preceded Yahweh, they said Elohim. When writing the word, Jewish scribes mixed the vowels of Adonai and Elohim with the consonants of YHWH, the traditional spelling of Yahweh. This mixing resulted in the Latin spelling, Jehovah, which carried over into English.

234- Jehu

Jehu (Hebrew, "He is Yahweh"), in the Old Testament, was a king of Israel. Initially Jehu was a soldier of Ahab, king of Israel; he rose to the rank of general. Exhorted by Elisha the prophet, Jehu slew Jehoram, king of Israel, Ahaziah, king of Judah, and Jezebel, Ahab's notorious wife. He was anointed king of Israel by the prophet Elijah and controlled the kingdom of Judah.

A prophet, the son of Hanani, was also called Jehu.

235- Jeremiah

Jeremiah was probably born after 650 BC at Anathoth, Judah and he died circa 570 BC in Egypt. Jeremias was a Hebrew prophet, reformer, and author of an Old Testament book that bears his name. He was closely involved in the political and religious events of a crucial era in the history of the region; his spiritual leadership helped his fellow countrymen survive disasters that included the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC and the exile of many Judaeans to Babylonia.

236- Jerome (Saint)

Jerome was born around 347 AD at Stridon, Dalmatia and he died in 419 or 420 in Bethlehem, Palestine. He was a biblical translator and monastic leader, traditionally regarded as the most learned of the Latin Fathers. His numerous biblical, ascetical, monastic, and theological works profoundly influenced the early Middle Ages. He is known particularly for his Latin translation of the Bible, the Vulgate.

Jerome had well-to-do Christian parents. His education, begun at home and continued in Rome where he studied grammar, rhetoric, and philosophy. He liked Latin literature, frequented the catacombs and near the end of his Roman education, was baptized (around 366), probably by Pope Liberius. He spent the next 20 years travelling. At Treveris (now Trier), he was attracted to monasticism. In Aquileia (Italy) he was linked, until 373, with an ascetic elite grouped around Bishop Valerianus. This included Rufinus, a writer and scholar, who translated the 3rd-century Alexandrian theologian Origen. On reaching Antioch in 374 he rested as guest of the priest Evagrius of Antioch and there may have composed his earliest known work, De septies percussa ("Concerning Seven Beatings"). In 375 Jerome began a two-year search for inner peace as a hermit in the desert of Chalcis. Recognizing his importance Paulinus decided to ordain him. Jerome accepted (378) on two conditions: his monastic aspirations would not be prejudiced, and priestly functions would not be forced on him. He visited the Nazarenes (Jewish Christians) of Beroea to examine their copy of a Hebrew gospel thought to be the original Gospel of Matthew. He translated 14 of Origen's homilies (sermons) on Old Testament books into Latin. He also translated the church historian Eusebius' Chronicon (Chronicles). But the most decisive influence on Jerome's later life was his return to Rome (382-385) as secretary to Pope Damasus. He wrote a defence of the perpetual virginity of Mary (383), and attacked the view of those who espoused the equality of virginity and marriage.

237- Jesus Christ

Jesus was born around 6 BC in Judaea and died in AD 30 in Jerusalem. He was also known as JESUS OF GALILEE, or JESUS OF NAZARETH. He is considered to be the founder of Christianity, which today claims a third of the world's population. His deeds and message are recorded in the New Testament. The history of the life (for which there are no real historical records), work, and death of Jesus of Nazareth reveals nothing of the universal Church that he is credited with founding. His life, in a remote area of the Roman Empire, was of short duration, and knowledge of it remained unknown to his contemporaries. None of the sources of his life and work can be traced to Jesus himself; he did not leave a single known written word. Also, there are no contemporary accounts written of his life and death. What can be established about the historical Jesus depends on Christian traditions, especially on the material used in the composition of the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, which reflect the outlook of the later church and its faith in Jesus.

238- Joel

Joel was one of the twelve minor prophets but nothing is known about him and his life. One of 12 short prophetic books of the Old Testament bears also the name Joel.

239- John the Evangelist (Apostle and Saint)

John lived in the first century AD; he is also known as Saint John the Evangelist, or Saint John the Divine. In Christian tradition, he is the author of three letters, the Fourth Gospel, and the Revelation to John in the New Testament. He played a leading role in the early church at Jerusalem. John was the son of Zebedee, a Galilean fisherman, and Salome; John and his older brother, James, were among the first disciples called by Jesus. James and John were called by Jesus "Boanerges," or "sons of thunder," perhaps because of some character trait. John and his brother, together with Simon Peter, formed an inner nucleus of intimate disciples. Whether the "disciple whom Jesus loved" (who is never named) mentioned in the fourth Gospel is to be identified with John (also not named) is not clear. John's subsequent history is obscure and passes into the uncertain mists of legend. That John died in Ephesus is stated by Polycrates and by Irenaeus, bishop of Lyon c. AD 180, who says John wrote his Gospel and letters at Ephesus and Revelation at Patmos. Tertullian, the 2nd-century North African theologian, reports that John was plunged into boiling oil from which he miraculously escaped unscathed. In the original form of the apocryphal Acts of John (second half of the 2nd century) the Apostle dies; but in later traditions he is assumed to have ascended to heaven like Enoch and Elijah.

240- John the Baptist (Saint)

John the Baptist lived between 8 and 4 BC until about AD 27 and, according to all four Gospels, he was the precursor of Jesus Christ. John was born in Judea, the son of the priest Zacharias and Elisabeth, cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus. John was prepared for his mission by years of self-discipline in the desert. At about the age of 30 he went into the country around the Jordan River preaching penance to prepare for the imminent coming of the Messiah. He baptized penitents with water as a symbol of the baptism of the Holy Spirit that was to come. With the baptism of Jesus, his office as precursor was accomplished, and his ministry came to an end. John angered Herod Antipas, the Judean ruler, by denouncing him for marrying Herodias, the wife of his half brother Herod, and was imprisoned. At the request of Salome, daughter of Herodias and Herod, John was beheaded.

241- John the Presbyter

John the Presbyter is an unknown personality of early Christianity. It is generally accepted that the three epistles gathered under the name of John were written to guide and strengthen the post-apostolic church as it faced both attacks from heresies and an increasing need for community solidarity. The writings known as I, II, and III John are all called Johannine because they are loosely related to the Gospel According to John in style and terminology; in addition they share much common terminology, style, and general situation. They are believed to be from the beginning of the 2nd century. The early church attributed I, II, and III John to John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee. I John has the form of an anonymous "homily" for admonition against heresy and instruction in faith and love while II and III John are brief letters from an author described only as "the elder". It is believed that I John, on one side, and II and III John, on the other, are not from the same author. II and III John could have been written by "John the presbyter", the "elder", a man of authority but we do not really know who he was while I John was written by someone else. However it is commonly accepted that the three Johannine letters came from a "Johannine" inner circle.

242- Jonah

Jonah is one minor Hebrew prophet of the 8th century BC. He is the assumed author of an Old Testament book of the same name. Some scholars believe that the Book of Jonah is the work of an unknown, postexilic (after 538 BC) author and not the work of the historical prophet Jonah. Others believe that it dates from between Jonah's age and the destruction of Nineveh, that is, between the mid-8th century BC and 612 BC.

243- Joseph, Saint

Joseph, according to the New Testament, was the husband of the Virgin Mary. Most of what is known about him is contained in the first two chapters of the books of Matthew and Luke. Other passages mention him as the father of Jesus Christ, and a few refer to him as a carpenter or an artisan. He was a descendant of the royal line of David, and his family was from David's town of Bethlehem. He was made a saint.

244- Joseph of Arimathea

Joseph of Arimathea, according to all four Gospels of the New Testament, was a rich Jew of Arimathea, probably a member of the Sanhedrin, the ancient Jewish court in Jerusalem. After the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, he requested the body from the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate and placed it in his own tomb.

245- Josephus, Flavius

Josephus (38-107 AD) was a Jewish historian who defected to the Romans in 67 during the Galilee campaign. Josephus' Bellum Judaicum (History of the Jewish War) was written in seven books between AD 75 and 79, toward the end of Vespasian's reign. The original Aramaic has been lost, but the extant Greek version was prepared under Josephus' personal direction. After sketching Jewish history from the mid-2nd century BC, Josephus presents a detailed account of the great revolt of AD 66-70. The work has much narrative brilliance, particularly the description of the siege of Jerusalem. In this work, Josephus is hostile to the Jewish patriots and indifferent to their fate. The Jewish War not only is the principal source for the Jewish revolt but also is especially valuable for its description of Roman military tactics and strategy. In Rome, Josephus had been granted citizenship and a pension. He was a favourite at the courts of the emperors Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian, and he enjoyed the income from a tax-free estate in Judaea. He was loathed by the Jews as a turncoat and traitor. Yet despite all of this, Josephus had not abandoned his Judaism. His greatest work, Antiquitates Judaicae (The Antiquities of the Jews), completed in 20 books in AD 93, traces the history of the Jews from creation to just before the outbreak of the revolt of AD 66-70. The Antiquities contains two famous references to Jesus Christ: the one in Book XX calls him the "so-called Christ." The implication in the passage in Book XVIII of Christ's divinity could not have come from Josephus and undoubtedly represents the invention of a later Christian copyist. Josephus died probably in the reign of Domitian, sometime after AD 93.

246- Joshua

Joshua, also spelled Josue, and in Hebrew Yehoshua ("Yahweh Is Deliverance"), was the leader of the Israelite tribes after the death of Moses. His story is told in the Old Testament Book of Joshua named after him. Joshua was a charismatic warrior who led Israel in the conquest of Canaan after the Exodus from Egypt. Joshua led the Israelites in an invasion across the Jordan River. He took the important city of Jericho and captured other towns in the north and south until most of Palestine was brought under Israelite control. He divided the conquered lands among the 12 tribes of Israel, admonishing them to be loyal to the God of the covenant.

246bis- Judas Barsabbas

Judas Barsabbas was a Christian prophet of Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament and an Elder of the Christian Jerusalem Church.

247- Judas Iscariot

In the New Testament Judas Iscariot (died about AD 28) was the apostle who betrayed Jesus Christ to the Sanhedrin. A native of Kerioth, possibly a town in Judea, he served as steward to Jesus and his other disciples. In the Gospel of John, Judas is described as covetous and dishonest. According to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, greed made him betray Jesus to the chief priest for 30 pieces of silver. The Books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke represent Jesus as conscious of the treachery. When Judas saw the consequences of his guilt, he was filled with despair and killed himself.

248- Jude

Jude was a servant of Jesus Christ, and James' brother as well as the assumed author of a New Testament Book of the same name.

Early tradition attributes the book Jude to several persons mentioned in the New Testament: among them Judas, a "brother" of Jesus Christ and Judas "the son of James," one of the 12 apostles also called Thaddaeus. Modern biblical scholars, state that they do not know, or suggest as the author an unknown person who called himself, or was named, Jude. Suggested dates of composition range from about AD 70 to the beginning of the 2nd century. The Epistle of Jude is addressed to Christians in general. It exhorts them to "contend for the faith" (v. 3) against certain "scoffers, following their own ungodly passions" (v. 18). These "worldly people, devoid of the Spirit" (v. 19), will be judged by God and given over to "darkness" forever (v. 13).

249- Julian of Eclanum

Julian of Eclanum was born in 380 at Eclanum, Italy, and he died circa 455 in Sicily. He was the bishop of Eclanum and is considered the most intellectual leader of the Pelagians. Julian was married circa 402, but upon the death of his wife he was ordained and circa 417 succeeded his father, Memorius, as bishop by appointment of Pope St. Innocent I. An early supporter of Pelagius, he and several other bishops refused to sign the document issued by Pope St. Zosimus excommunicating Pelagius and his disciple Celestius. Julian demanded that a general council of the church consider the problem. His appeal was rejected, and he was deposed and banished from Italy in 421. He was condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431, and all his attempts to regain his see failed. He eventually settled in Sicily as a teacher. Julian systematized Pelagian theology and wrote several works (most of which are now lost). His writings are known primarily through long quotations from St. Augustine, who refuted them.

250- Julian (Emperor) the Apostate

JULIAN THE APOSTATE (b.331/332 AD; d.363), Roman emperor (ad 361-363), scholar, and military leader was proclaimed emperor by his troops. A persistent enemy of Christianity, he publicly announced his conversion to paganism (361), thus acquiring the epithet "the Apostate." Julian was a younger son of Julius Constantius, the half brother of Constantine I (the Great), and his second wife, Basilina. Julian's freedom as a student had a powerful influence on him and ensured that for the first time in a century the future emperor would be a man of culture. He studied at Pergamum, at Ephesus, and later at Athens. He was attracted by Neoplatonism and adopted the cult of the Unconquered Sun. That his literary talent was considerable is demonstrated in his surviving works, most of which illustrate his deep love of Hellenic culture. Julian had been baptized and raised as a Christian but he was more interested in his philosophic speculations. Julian was not alone in preferring Hellenism to Christianity. Society, and particularly the educated society in which Julian was at home, was in fact still largely if not predominantly pagan.

251- Julius I, Saint

Julius I was born in Rome and he died on April 12, 352. He was pope from 337 to 352. He was elected four months after St. Mark's death on Feb. 6, 337. Julius was a defender of orthodoxy against Arianism, a heresy that held Christ to have been human, not divine. In 339 he gave refuge at Rome to Bishop St. Athanasius the Great of Alexandria, who had been deposed and expelled from his see by the Arians. At the Council of Rome in 340, Julius reaffirmed Athanasius' position. Julius tried to unite the Western bishops against Arianism by convoking in 342/343 the Council of Sardica (now Sofia, Bulgaria). The council confirmed the pope's supreme authority, enhancing his power in ecclesiastical affairs. Julius restored Athanasius and refuted all Arian charges; his decision was confirmed by the Roman emperor Constantius II (an Arian) at Antioch.

252- Julius Africanus

Julius Africanus (circa 160-240) was a Christian writer probably born at Jerusalem but he migrated to Emmaus (Nicopolis) and then to Alexandria and Rome. He wrote a world history in five books and an encyclopaedia of 24 books. Only fragments reached us.

253- Jung

Carl Gustav Jung was born on July 26, 1875 at Kesswil, Switzerland and he died on June 6, 1961 at Küsnacht. He was a Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist who founded analytic psychology. Jung proposed and developed the concepts of the extroverted and introverted personality, archetypes, and the collective unconscious. His work influenced psychiatry and the study of religion, literature, and related fields. Jung was the son of a philologist and pastor. In his lonely childhood he was concerned with his father's failing belief in religion, and he tried to communicate to him his own experience of God, but they did not succeeded in understanding each other. Jung seemed destined to become a minister but he discovered philosophy and read widely, and this led him to forsake the strong family tradition and to study medicine and become a psychiatrist. He was a student at the universities of Basel (1895-1900) and Zürich (M.D., 1902). He joined the staff of the Burghölzli Asylum of the University of Zürich in 1900. At Burghölzli, Jung began to apply association tests initiated by earlier researchers. He studied patients' peculiar and illogical responses to stimulus words, and found that they were caused by emotionally charged clusters of associations withheld from consciousness because of their disagreeable, immoral, and frequently sexual content. He used the now famous term complex to describe such conditions.

254- Jupiter

Jupiter was also called Jove and in Latin Iuppiter, Iovis, or Diespiter He was the chief ancient Roman and Italian god. Like Zeus, the Greek god with whom he is etymologically identical, Jupiter was a sky god. One of his most ancient epithets is Lucetius. As Jupiter Elicius he was propitiated with a peculiar ritual to send rain in time of drought; as Jupiter Fulgur he had an altar in the Campus Martius, and all places struck by lightning were made his property and were guarded from the profane by a circular wall. Throughout Italy he was worshiped on the summits of hills. At Rome itself on the Capitoline Hill was his oldest temple; here there was a tradition of his sacred tree, the oak, common to the worship both of Zeus and of Jupiter. Jupiter was not only the great protecting deity of the race but also one whose worship embodied a distinct moral conception. He is especially concerned with oaths, treaties, and leagues, and it was in the presence of his priest that the most ancient and sacred form of marriage took place. Throughout the Roman Republic this remained the central Roman cult; and, although Augustus' new foundations (Apollo Palatinus and Mars Ultor) were in some sense its rivals, that emperor was far too shrewd to attempt to oust Iuppiter Optimus Maximus from his paramount position; he became the protecting deity of the reigning emperor as representing the state, as he had been the protecting deity of the free republic. His worship spread over the whole empire.

255- Justin Martyr, Saint

Justin (about 100-165) was a philosopher, theologian, and one of the earliest apologists of the Christian church, who sought to reconcile Christian doctrine and pagan culture. He was born in Flavia Neapolis, Samaria (now Nabulus, West Bank), a Roman city built on the site of the ancient Shechem, in Samaria. His parents were pagans. As a young man Justin devoted himself to the study of Greek philosophy, notably the writings of Plato and the Stoic philosophers. Justin first encountered Christianity in Ephesus. After his conversion to the religion, he went to Rome (around 140), where he established a school. He was beheaded in Rome as a martyr during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The books that are ascribed to Justin with certainty are the two Apologies for the Christians, which comprise an erudite defence of Christians against charges of atheism and sedition in the Roman state, and the Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, which professes to be the record of an actual discussion at Ephesus. The Apologies were intended primarily for the educated public of the provinces. Their central theme is the divine plan of salvation, fulfilled in Christ the Logos. Justin defended Christians against charges of atheism, sexual immorality, and disobedience to civil authority. In Justin's view, Christianity was the final revelation toward which Greco-Roman philosophy had gradually been moving. His writings also provide descriptions and explanations of Christian life and worship.

256- Krishna

Krishna is one of the most widely revered and most popular of all Indian divinities, worshipped as the eighth incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu and also as a supreme god in his own right. The basic sources of Krishna's mythology are the epic Mahabharata and its 5th century AD appendix, the Harivamsa, and the Puranas. They relate how Krishna was born into the Yadava clan, the son of Vasudeva and Devaki, sister of Kamsa, the wicked king of Mathura (in modern Uttar Pradesh). Kamsa, hearing a prophecy that he should be destroyed by Devaki's child, tried to slay her children; but Krishna was smuggled across the Yamuna River to Gokula (or Vraja, modern Gokul), where he was raised by the leader of the cowherds, Nanda, and his wife Yasoda. The child Krishna performed many miracles and slew demons. As a youth, the cowherd Krishna became renowned as a lover; the gopis (wives and daughters of the cowherds) left their homes to dance with him in the forests. At length Krishna and his brother Balarama returned to Mathura to slay the wicked Kamsa. Afterward, finding the kingdom unsafe, he led the Yadavas to the western coast of Kathiawar and established his court at Dvaraka (modern Dwarka, Gujarat). He married the princess Rukmini and took other wives as well. As the god sat in the forest, a huntsman, mistaking him for a deer, shot him in his one vulnerable spot, the heel, killing him. The cowherd Krishna is obviously the god of a pastoral community that turned away from the Indra-dominated Vedic religion. The Krishna who emerged from the blending of these ideologies was ultimately identified with the supreme god Visnu-Narayana. Krishna's youthful affairs with the gopis are interpreted as symbolic of the loving interplay between God and the human soul. The rich variety of legends associated with Krishna's life led to an abundance of representation in painting and sculpture. The divine lover, the most common representation, is shown playing the flute, surrounded by adoring gopis.

257- Lactantius

Lactantius was born in AD 240 in North Africa and he died around 320, in Augusta Treverorum, Belgica [now Trier, Germany]. His full name was LUCIUS CAECILIUS FIRMIANUS LACTANTIUS (CAECILIUS also spelled CAELIUS). He was a Christian apologist and one of the most reprinted of the Latin Church Fathers. His Divinae institutiones ("Divine Precepts") is a philosophical refutation of early-4th-century anti-Christian writings and the first systematic Latin account of the Christian attitude toward life. Lactantius was a teacher of rhetoric at Nicomedia (later Izmit, Turkey). When the Roman emperor Diocletian began persecuting Christians Lactantius resigned his post about 305 and returned to the West. In about 317 he tutored the emperor Constantine's son Crispus, at Trier. Only Lactantius' writings dealing with Christianity have survived. His principal work, the Divinae institutiones, depended more on the testimony of classical authors than on that of sacred Scripture. It repudiated what he termed the deluding superstitions of pagan cults, proposing in their place the Christian religion as a theism, or rationalized belief in a single Supreme Being who is the source creating all else. In a companion work, "On the Death of Persecutors," Lactantius held that the Christian God could intervene to right human injustice.

258- Lazarus

Lazarus is the name of two persons mentioned in the New Testament.

Mary and Martha of Bethany had a brother named Lazarus who was an intimate friend of Jesus Christ. John 11 and 12 contain the narration of Jesus' raising him from the dead after four days in the tomb. According to a tradition in the Orthodox Church, he later became bishop of Cyprus.

Lazarus is also the name Jesus gave to the sick beggar of the parable in Luke 16. The description of Lazarus as "full of sores" was taken to indicate that he was a leper.

259- Leah

Leah (also spelled LIA), according to the Old Testament, was the first wife of Jacob and the traditional ancestor of five of the 12 tribes of Israel. Leah was the mother of six of Jacob's sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, and Judah; Judah was the ancestor of King David and, according to the New Testament, of Jesus. Jacob fell in love with Laban's younger daughter, Rachel, whom he married. Jacob did not love Leah, but God consoled her with children before allowing Rachel to become pregnant. Leah lived on after Rachel and, according to tradition, she was buried in Hebron on the west bank of the Jordan River.

260- Levi

Levi, the 3d son of Jacob, is the ancestor of one of the main tribe of Israel, priestly in character.

261- Libanius

Libanius was born in AD 314 at Antioch, Syria and he died in 393. He was a Greek Sophist and rhetorician whose orations and letters are a major source of information on the political, social, and economic life of Antioch and of the eastern part of the Roman Empire in the 4th century. After being a teacher in Constantinople and Nicomedia, Libanius went to Antioch (354), where his school soon became famous. He tried to maintain the Greek tradition in the face of the rise of Rome, and he attempted to live and write as though Christianity did not exist.

262- Livy of Patavium

Livy of Patavium was born in 59/64 BC at Patavium, Venetia, Italy and he died in AD 17 also in Patavium. Together with Sallust and Tacitus he was one of the three great Roman historians. His history of Rome became a classic in his own lifetime and exercised a profound influence on the style and philosophy of historical writing down to the 18th century.

263- Lucian

Lucian was born in AD 120 at Samosata, Syria (now Samsat, Turkey) and he died around 180 in Athens [Greece]. He was a Greek rhetorician, pamphleteer, and satirist, author of Dialogues of the Gods and Dialogues of the Dead. Nothing much is known of his life except that as a boy Lucian was apprenticed to his uncle, a sculptor, but he soon left for western Asia Minor (Tarsus), where he acquired a Greek literary education. He became familiar with the works of Homer, Plato, and the comic poets. He was raised speaking Aramaic but he soon learned the Greek language and culture and he began a career as a public speaker giving model speeches and public lectures and probably also pleading in court. After touring Greece he went to Italy and then to Gaul (modern France). He finally settled in Athens in the late '50s of the 2nd century where he was able to extend his knowledge of Greek literature and thought and started writing critical and satirical essays on the intellectual life of his time, either in the form of Platonic dialogues or, in imitation of Menippus, in a mixture of prose and verse. After some years he returned to Athens and took up public speaking again. The date and circumstances of his death are unknown. He is credited with writing about 80 books.

264- Lucian of Antioch, Saint

Lucian of Antioch was born circa 240 at Samosata Syria (now Samsat, Turkey) and he died Jan. 7, 312 at Nicomedia, Bithynia, Asia Minor (now Izmit, Turkey). He was a Christian theologian and martyr who created a theological tradition at Antioch. In his principal work, Lucian analysed the Greek text of both the Old and New Testaments, creating a tradition of manuscripts known as the Lucianic Byzantine, or Syrian, text. Later critics, including Alexander of Alexandria, during the Council of Nicaea in 325, associated Lucian's school with the condemned theological revisions of Arius and his attack on the absolute divinity of Christ. Lucian, in 269, had also been implicated with Monarchianism of the Antiochene bishop Paul of Samosata. Church authorities accepted Lucian's conciliatory statement of belief in 289. Lucian's influence oriented Christian theology toward a historical realist approach in its debate with classical non-Christian thought. Lucian's martyrdom by torture and starvation was for refusing to eat meat.

265- Lucian of Samosata

Lucian of Samosata (circa 115-200), he knew Christianity and thought it to be better than the doctrine of the charlatan Alexander of Abonoteichops.

266- Lucifer

Lucifer is a name commonly used for the devil. It was originally a Latin word meaning light bearer. It appears in Isaiah 14:12: "How you have fallen from the heavens, O shining one, son of morning!" Isaiah applied the name shining one or Lucifer to a king of Babylon. But it came to be thought of as an evil archangel who was hurled from heaven for his wickedness and revolt against God.

267- Lucius I, (Saint)

All that is known of Lucius is that he died on March 5, 254 AD and that he was pope from June 253 to March 254, succeeding St. Cornelius. He was exiled to Civitavecchia, Italy, by the Roman emperor Gallus but later was allowed to return to Rome by Gallus' successor, Valerian. Lucius continued the liberal policy Cornelius had established toward apostates who renounced Christianity because of the persecution of the Roman emperor Decius. Lucius opposed and condemned the Novatian Schism, a rigorist movement against penitent apostates, inspired by the antipope Novatian. Lucius' martyrdom in the Valerian persecution is unproven.

268- Luke (Saint)

According to the Christian tradition Luke lived in the first century AD. He is the author of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles and a companion of the Apostle Paul that he accompanied in his missionary work. Information about his life is scanty. Tradition based on Gospel references has regarded him as a physician and a Gentile. Luke's principal occupation was the advancement of the Christian mission. If Luke was the author of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. He excludes himself from those who were eyewitnesses of Christ's ministry. His participation in the Pauline mission is indicated by the use of the first person in the "we" sections of Acts. They reveal that Luke preached the Christian message and performed miraculous healings. The "we" sections place the author with Paul during his initial mission into Greece. It is there that Luke later rejoins Paul and accompanies him on his final journey to Jerusalem (c. AD 58). After Paul's arrest in that city and during his extended detention in nearby Caesarea, Luke spent considerable time in Palestine working with the apostle as the occasion allowed. Two years later he appeared with Paul on his prison voyage from Caesarea to Rome and again at the time of the apostle's martyrdom in the imperial city (c. AD 66). The literary style of his writings and the range of his vocabulary mark him as an educated man. The distinction drawn between Luke and other colleagues "of the circumcision" has led some to conclude that he was a Gentile but his knowledge of the Old Testament suggests that he was a Jewish Christian. Moved by the Holy Spirit, Luke composed this entire Gospel in the districts around Achaia. Later notions that Luke was one of the 70 disciples appointed by the Lord appear to be legendary.

269- Lydus John

Johanes (John) Lydus was an astrologer during the last years of paganism in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. He lived in Byzantium (Eastern Roman Empire) where there were a few others: Hephaestion, Julian of Laodicea, "Proclus," and Rhetorius. Their works are unoriginal compilations but they are also the major sources for an understanding of earlier Hellenistic astrology. By the end of the 6th century, however, the general decline of the Byzantine Empire's intellectual life and the strong opposition of the church combined to obliterate astrology, though some practice survived in Byzantium as it did in Western Europe.

270- Macarius Magnes

Macarius Magnes was active in the 5th century. He was an Eastern Orthodox bishop and polemicist, author of an apology for the Christian faith. Little is known of him except that he is probably identified with the bishop of Magnesia who, at the Synod of the Oak in 403, contended with an episcopal friend of John Chrysostom. His importance derives from his theological defence of Christianity by the obscurely titled Apokritikos e monogenes pros Hellenas, 5 books (c. 400; "Response of the Only-Begotten to the Greeks"), commonly called the Apocriticus. Its doctrine is basically derived from the Cappadocian school, one of the foremost cultural centres of the early Greek Church. The critic questions biblical texts, particularly concerning Christ's Incarnation and Resurrection. About half of the Apocriticus texts have survived.

271- Macarius of Jerusalem

Macarius of Jerusalem (died in circa 334) was a defender of orthodoxy against Arianism. Arius condemned him in about 318 in a letter to Eusebius of Nicomedia. Macarius became Bishop of Jerusalem in about 313 AD and he attended the Council of Nicaea.

272- Macarius the Egyptian

Macarius the Egyptian was born AD 300 in Upper Egypt and he died in AD 390 in Scete Desert, Egypt. He was also called Macarius The Great, a monk and ascetic who advanced the ideal of monasticism in Egypt and influenced its development throughout Christendom. About the age of 30 Macarius retired to the desert of Scete, where for 60 years he lived as a hermit. He was ordained priest circa 340 after gaining a reputation for extraordinary powers of prophecy and healing. In his priestly function of presiding at the monks' worship, Macarius also acquired fame for his eloquent spiritual conferences and instructions. About 374 Bishop Lucius of Alexandria banished Macarius to an island in the Nile for his opposition to Arianism. He returned from exile and remained in the desert until his death. The only literary work ascribed to Macarius is a letter, To the Friends of God, addressed to younger monks. The essence of his spiritual theology is the doctrine of the mystical development of the soul that has been formed in the image of God. By physical and intellectual labour, bodily discipline, and meditation, the spirit can serve God and find tranquillity through an inner experience of the divine presence in the form of a vision of light.

273- Macedonius

Macedonius lived in the 4th century AD. He was a Greek bishop of Constantinople (Istanbul) and a leading moderate Arian theologian in the 4th-century Trinitarian controversy. His teaching concerning the Son oscillated between attributing to him an "identity of essence" (Greek: homoousios) and "perfect similarity" with the divinity of the Father, or Godhead. After Macedonius' death about 362, a heretical Christian sect that rejected the divinity of the Holy Spirit arose; because of the similarity of their teaching to Macedonius' doctrine of the Son, they were called Macedonians. About 339 Macedonius usurped the episcopal throne of Constantinople from the orthodox incumbent with the support of the Arian faction. Except for the conservative, or orthodox, ascendancy (346-351), he held office until 360. Although he maintained an ambiguous theological stance, he repressed the orthodox Nicene element in Constantinople. Owing to his semi-Arian orientation or to political differences, he lost favour with the Roman emperor Constantius II (reigned 337-361) and, at a local church council in 360, was deposed and exiled.

274- Macrobius

Macrobius was a 400 AD Latin grammarian and philosopher but little is known about his life. His most important work is the Saturnalia give an imaginary account of discussions in private houses on the day before the Saturnalia and on three days of that festival. Macrobius also wrote a commentary on Cicero's "Somnium Scipionis" ("The Dream of Scipio"). This is a Neoplatonic work in two books. Only fragments remain of a third work entitled De differentiis et societatibus Graeci Latinique verbi ("On the Differences and Similarities Between Greek and Latin Words").

275- Magna Mater

Magna Mater was the main Persian Goddess, the equivalent of Isis in Egypt, Persephone in Greece, Cybele in Asia Minor, Ishtar in Mesopotamia, and Aphrodite in Syria and Asherad in the region around Judea.

276- Magnus, Albertus (Saint)

Albertus Magnus was born around 1200 at Lauingen an der Donau, Swabia, Germany and he died on Nov. 15, 1280 at Cologne; he became a saint on December 16, 1931. Magnus was a Dominican bishop and philosopher best known as a proponent of Aristotelianism. He established the study of nature as a legitimate science within the Christian tradition. He was the most prolific writer of his century and was the only scholar of his age to be called "the Great" even before his death. Albertus was the eldest son of a wealthy German lord. After his early schooling, he went to the University of Padua, where he studied the liberal arts. He joined the Dominican order at Padua in 1223. He continued his studies at Padua and Bologna and in Germany and then taught theology at several convents throughout Germany. Sometime before 1245 he was sent to the Dominican convent of Saint-Jacques at the University of Paris, where he came into contact with the works of Aristotle; he also lectured on the Bible and on Peter Lombard's Sentences, the theological textbook of the medieval universities. In 1245 he was graduated master in the theological faculty and obtained the Dominican chair "for foreigners." He wrote commentaries on the Bible, on the Sentences, and on all the known works of Aristotle, both genuine and spurious. His speculations were open to Neoplatonic thought. Albertus distinguished the way to knowledge by revelation and faith from the way of philosophy and of science. For Albertus these two ways are not opposed; there is no "double truth", one truth for faith and a contradictory truth for reason. Although there are mysteries accessible only to faith, other points of Christian doctrine are recognizable both by faith and by reason. In 1248, Albertus went to Cologne to organize the first Dominican studium generale ("general house of studies") in Germany; he presided over it until 1254. During this period his chief disciple was Thomas Aquinas, who returned to Paris in 1252. He became the bishop of Regensburg in January 1260 but he resigned in 1261 and returned to his order and to teaching at Cologne. From 1263 to 1264 he was legate of Pope Urban IV, preaching the crusade throughout Germany and Bohemia. Later, he lectured at Würzburg and at Strasbourg and in 1270 he settled definitively at Cologne. In 1274 he attended the second Council of Lyon, France, and in 1277 he travelled to Paris to uphold the good name and writings of Thomas Aquinas, who had died a few years before, and to defend certain Aristotelian doctrines that both held to be true.

277- Magus, Simon

Simon Magus or Simon The Magician (known also as The Sorcerer) was active during the 1st century AD as a practitioner of magical arts. He is known as the arch-heretic and as the father of all heresies, according to the Church Fathers. He probably came from Gitta, a village in biblical Samaria. Simon, according to the New Testament account in Acts of the Apostles 8:9-24, after becoming a Christian, offered to purchase from the Apostles Peter and John the supernatural power of transmitting the Holy Spirit, thus giving rise to the term simony as the buying or selling of sacred things or ecclesiastical office. Later references in certain early Christian writings identify him as the founder of post-Christian Gnosticism. He was revered by the people of northern Palestine as possessing vast preternatural powers. The biblical account concludes with Simon's repentance and apparent reconciliation with Christianity after his condemnation by St. Peter.

278- Malachi

Malachi was the author of the last book of the Twelve Minor Prophets.

279- Mani

Mani was born on April 14, 216 into an aristocratic Persian family in southern Babylonia and he died about 274 at Gundeshapur. His father, a pious man, brought him up in an austere Baptist sect, possibly the Mandaeans. At the ages of 12 and 24, Mani experienced visions in which an angel designated him the prophet of a new and ultimate revelation. On his first mission, Mani went to India, where Buddhism influenced him. With the protection of the new Persian emperor, Shapur I (reigned 241-72), Mani preached throughout the empire and sent missionaries to the Roman Empire. The rapid expansion of Manichaeism provoked the hostility of the leaders of orthodox Zoroastrianism, and when Bahram I (reigned 274-77) succeeded to the throne, they persuaded him to have Mani arrested as a heretic, after which he either died in prison or was executed. Mani proclaimed himself the last prophet in a succession that included Zoroaster, Buddha, and Jesus, whose partial revelations were, he taught, contained in his own doctrines.

The Iranian Mani, also called MANES, OR MANICHAEUS, was the founder of the Manichaean religion that taught a dualistic doctrine that viewed the world as a fusion of spirit and matter, the contrary principles of good and evil. His life is known from his writings and the traditions of his church.

280- Marcellina

Marcellina was a Valentinian teacher, a follower of Epiphanes, and the founder of the Gnostic sect whose members were called Marcellites or Marcellians. When she came to Rome she brought with her painted icons covered with gold and representing Jesus, Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle.

281- Marcion

Marcion, (circa 100-160) was born in Sinope, Pontus (now Sinop, Turkey); he probably was the son of the bishop of that city. He went to Rome about 140. Several years later, differing with the established Christian church on doctrine, he was excommunicated as a heretic and founded his own sect whose name derives from his own name. After his arrival in Rome he fell under the influence of Cerdo, a Gnostic Christian, whose stormy relations with the Church of Rome were the consequence of his belief that the God of the Old Testament could be distinguished from the God of the New Testament. For accepting, developing, and propagating such ideas, Marcion was expelled from the church in 144 as a heretic, but the movement he headed became both widespread and powerful.

282- Marcus

Marcus was a Christian Gnostic sage and teacher from Asia Minor or Egypt. His teaching reached Rhone Valley by the end of the second century AD. He received his wisdom by revelation of the Pythagorean Tetraktys, which appeared to him as a woman. He encouraged women to become Priestess and to officiate the Eucharist.

283- Marcus Aurelius

Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus, his original name until AD 161, was born on April 26, 121 AD at Rome and he died on March 17, 180 at Vindobona [Vienna]. He was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD. He is best known as a Stoic philosopher and author of "Meditations". Marcus was related to several of the most prominent families of the Roman establishment and he was destined for social distinction. Hadrian adopted Titus Aurelius Antoninus (the husband of Marcus' aunt) to succeed him as the emperor Antoninus Pius, arranging that Antoninus should adopt as his sons two young men, one the son of Commodus and the other Marcus, whose name was then changed to Marcus Aelius Aurelius Verus. Marcus thus was marked out as a future joint emperor at the age of just under 17, though as it turned out he was not to succeed until his 40th year. The long years of Marcus' apprenticeship under Antoninus are illuminated by the correspondence between him and his teacher Fronto, a dreary pedant whose blood ran rhetoric. It was to the credit of Marcus that he grew impatient with the unending regime of advanced exercises in Greek and Latin declamation and eagerly embraced the Diatribai ("Discourses") of a religious former slave, Epictetus, an important philosopher of the Stoic school. From that time Marcus found his chief intellectual interest as well as his spiritual nourishment in philosophy. Meanwhile he learned the business of government and assumed public roles. Marcus was consul in 140, 145, and 161. In 145 he married his cousin, the Emperor's daughter Annia Galeria Faustina, and in 147 the imperium and tribunicia potestas, the main formal powers of emperorship, were conferred upon him and he became junior co-emperor, sharing the intimate counsels and crucial decisions of Antoninus. On March 7, 161, at a time when the brothers were jointly consuls, their father died.

284- Marduk

Marduk was the main Mesopotamian God, the equivalent of Osiris in Egypt, Dionysus in Greece, Attis in Asia Minor, Adonis in Syria, Mithras in Persia and Ball in the region around Judea.

285- Mark the Evangelist (Saint)

Mark, who lived during the first century AD, was probably born in Jerusalem and his dying place is said, by tradition, to be Alexandria in Egypt He is assumed to be the author of the second Synoptic Gospel. Nothing much is known about his life except that he was one of St. Paul's fellow workers (Philemon 24) and St. Barnabas' cousin (Colossians 4:10). He is referred as John in Acts 12:25, 13:5; 13, and 15:37 but elsewhere in the New Testament he is called Mark. According to Acts, he accompanied Barnabas and Paul to Antioch (12:25), now Antakya, Turkey, where he became their assistant (13:5). When they arrived at Perga (near modern Ihsaniye, Turkey), Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem (13:13). Barnabas and Paul as a result separated, for Paul declined Barnabas' insistence on taking Mark back (15:37-39). Later Mark went to Cyprus with Barnabas. In 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul requests St. Timothy to bring Mark, "for he is very useful in serving me," but this is believed to be an incorrect conclusion. Mark and St. Peter were close as suggested by the greetings from "my son Mark" in 1 Peter 5:13; moreover the Apostolic Father Papias of Hierapolis says that Mark's Gospel was based on Peter's teaching about Jesus. Later tradition assumes that Mark was one of the 72 disciples appointed by Jesus (Luke 10:1) and identifies him with the young man fleeing naked at Jesus' arrest (Mark 14:51-52). The Egyptian church claims Mark as its founder, and, from the 4th century AD, the see of Alexandria has been called cathedra Marci ("the chair of Mark"). Other places attributing their origin to Mark are the Italian cities of Aquileia and Venice.

286- Marsanes

Marsanes was a Christian Gnostic sage. He believed that the world was far from a worthless illusion and taught that Gnosis participates in the process of redeeming the "kenoma" by transforming it into the perfect image of the "pleromic" archetypes.

287- Martha

Martha was the sister of Lazarus of Bethany; she had also a sister called Mary. They lived at Bethany, near Jerusalem. After Lazarus died, Jesus raised him from the dead after he had been entombed for four days. This miraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead inspired many Jews to believe in Jesus as the Christ.

288- Mary, Virgin and Saint

The Virgin Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ and as such is venerated by Christians since apostolic times. Matthew describes Mary as Joseph's wife, who was "with child of the Holy Spirit" before they "came together" as husband and wife. She was present at the visit of the Magi, fled with Joseph to Egypt, and returned to Nazareth. Mark refers to Jesus as the son of Mary and Luke's Gospel includes the angel Gabriel's telling Mary of the birth of Jesus; her visit to Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist; and Mary's perplexity at finding Jesus in the Temple questioning the teachers when he was 12 years old. The Gospel of John contains no infancy narrative, nor does it mention Mary's name; she is referred to as "the mother of Jesus". John said that she was present at the first of Jesus' miracles at the wedding feast of Cana and at his death. She was made a Saint.

289- Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene, in the New Testament, was a woman from Magdala, a town near Tiberias (now in Israel). Jesus healed her of evil spirits and he appeared to her after his resurrection. Mary Magdalene was identified by Pope Gregory I with a sinful woman described as having anointed the Lord's feet and with Mary the sister of Martha, who also anointed Jesus, although the Gospels support neither tradition. The Eastern Church maintains the distinction between the three.

290- Matthew the Evangelist (Saint)

Matthew lived during the first century AD in Palestine; he was also called LEVI. Mark was one of the Twelve Apostles and the traditional author of the first Synoptic Gospel. According to Matthew 9:9 and Mark 2:14, Matthew was sitting by the customs house in Capernaum when Jesus called him to become a disciple. If Matthew was really Levi, Matthew (probably meaning "Yahweh's Gift") would be the Christian name of Levi (called by Mark "Levi the son of Alphaeus"). Levi was a tax collector for Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. The tax collectors were distrusted and treated with contempt everywhere as a result the Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners; Jesus answered, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mark 2:15-17). According to Luke 5:29, that dinner was given by Levi in his house after Jesus asked him to become a disciple. The New Testament offers few and uncertain information about him. The Apostolic Father Papias of Hierapolis, as quoted by Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea, said: "So then Matthew composed the Oracles in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as he could." The Gospel According to Matthew was written for a Jewish-Christian church in a Jewish environment, but that this Matthew is the synoptic author is seriously doubted. Tradition notes his ministry in Judaea and then in the East (Ethiopia and Persia). Legend has him dying a natural death or as a martyr. Matthew's relics were discovered in Salerno (Italy) in 1080.

291- Matthias, Saint

According to the biblical Acts of the Apostles, Matthias the Disciple was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot after Judas betrayed Jesus. Acts reveals that Matthias accompanied Jesus and the Apostles from the time of the Lord's Baptism to his Ascension. To replace Judas, the Apostles chose between Matthias and St. Joseph Barsabbas. After his election, Matthias received the Holy Spirit with the other Apostles. It is generally believed that Matthias ministered in Judaea and then carried out missions to foreign places. Greek tradition states that he Christianised Cappadocia, now in central Turkey, later journeying about the Caspian Sea, where he was martyred by crucifixion.

292- Maximus of Tyre

Maximus of Tyre was an actor in the revival of the Greek spirit under Hadrian and other emperors in the 2nd century AD. Maximus and other Greek prose writers were regarded as constituting the Second Sophistic movement that took as its models Athenian writers of the 5th and 4th centuries BC. This group included, beside Maximus, Polemon of Athens, Herodes Atticus, Aelius Aristides, and the group of Philostrati. Other writers, like Lucian, Aelian, and Alciphron, were influenced by the movement even if not properly members of it; and the writers of prose romances, such as Longus and Heliodorus, and the historians Dio Cassius and Herodian are also associated with the general trend. By the 3rd century AD the movement disappeared and converged in the general stream of Greek literature.

293- Melito of Sardis

Melito of Sardis was a second century Greek bishop of Sardis in Lydia (now in Turkey). His theological treatise on Easter, "The Lord's Passion," confirms his reputation as a great early Christian writer. In it, eternity and time, Christ's divine and human nature, and the Jews and the Christian church are contrasted. Eusebius of Caesarea says that Melito was the bishop who asked the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius to make Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. Eusebius gives the titles of 20 of Melito's books, which were in Greek, but only fragments survive.

294- Melville, Herman

Melville, Herman (1819-91) was an US novelist, short-story writer, and poet. As a young man he was a sailor and he used his adventures in Typee (1846), Omoo (1847), Mardi (1849), Redburn (1849), and White-Jacket (1850). Moby-Dick (1851), his account of a whaling voyage, failed commercially, as did Pierre (1852), the historical romance Israel Potter (1855), the story collection The Piazza Tales (1856), and The Confidence-Man (1857), a sardonic comedy set aboard a Mississippi steamer. Moby-Dick, one of the greatest 19th-century novels in any language is written in a rich, rhythmical prose, it has a solid basis as a documentary narrative. The story of Captain Ahab's pursuit of the white whale is a literary myth, with commentaries on many topics, from metaphysical enigmas to man's exploitation of nature. During the American Civil War he turned to poetry, and published three collections and the long poem Clarel (1876), without attracting much attention. He died in obscurity. The novel Billy Budd, Sailor was found in his papers and published in 1924.

295- Menander

Menander was a first century AD Christian Gnostic from Samaria. He was one of the first heretics according to Tertullian.

296- Methodius of Olympus

Methodius of Olympus who died circa 311 AD was Bishop of Lycia and an opponent of Origen.

297- Metrodorus

Metrodorus was a Pagan philosopher.

298- Micah

Micah was a minor Jewish prophet of the 8th century BC whose name was given to an Old Testament Book, part of which may have been written later.

299- Minucius, Felix, of Africa

Minucius Felix was a Latin Apologist writer of the second century AD. He is described as a literalist Christian although he was not. He taught a philosophical Christianity based on the mythical figures of the Logos and Sophia. He was not interested in Jesus and never mentions him.

300- Mithra

Mithra is also spelled MITHRAS, Sanskrit MITRA, in ancient Indo-Iranian mythology, the god of light, whose cult spread from India in the east to as far west as Spain, Great Britain, and Germany. (See Mithraism.) The first written mention of the Vedic Mitra dates to 1400 BC. His worship spread to Persia and, after the defeat of the Persians by Alexander the Great, throughout the Hellenic world. In the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, the cult of Mithra, carried and supported by the soldiers of the Roman Empire, was the chief rival to the newly developing religion of Christianity. The Roman emperors Commodus and Julian were initiates of Mithraism, and in 307 Diocletian consecrated a temple on the Danube River to Mithra, "Protector of the Empire." According to myth, Mithra was born, bearing a torch and armed with a knife, beside a sacred stream and under a sacred tree, a child of the earth itself. He soon rode, and later killed, the life-giving cosmic bull, whose blood fertilizes all vegetation. Mithra's slaying of the bull was a popular subject of Hellenic art and became the prototype for a bull-slaying ritual of fertility in the Mithraic cult. As god of light, Mithra was associated with the Greek sun god, Helios, and the Roman Sol Invictus. He is often paired with Anahita, goddess of the fertilizing waters.

301- Monoimos

Monoimos, the "Arab" was an early Christian sage and master. He apparently did not belong to any Gnostic sect.

302- Montanus

Montanus founded a heretical movement of Christianity known as Montanism in the second century AD. It lasted in Asia Minor and North Africa from the 2nd to the 9th centuries. At first Montanus expected an imminent transformation of the world but later the sect evolved into heretical sectarianism claiming a new revelation. Little is known about Montanus except that he was a priest of the Pagan cult of Cybele, the mother goddess of fertility, who became a Christian Gnostic. The 4th-century church historian Eusebius of Caesarea said that around 172-173 Montanus entered into an ecstatic state and began prophesying in the region of Phrygia where he became the leader of a group of illuminati ("the enlightened"), that included the prophetesses Priscilla (or Prisca) and Maximilla. The members showed the frenzied nature of their religious experience by seizures and utterances of strange languages that the disciples believed to be oracles of the Holy Spirit. Convinced that the end of the world was at hand, Montanus laid down a rigorous morality to purify Christians and detach them from their material desires.

303- Moses

Moses was a Hebrew prophet and lawgiver, and the founder of Israel, or the Jewish people. According to the Old Testament, he was born in Goshen, ancient Egypt, when the Hebrews lived in Egypt oppressed by the Pharaoh. As the Pharaoh had ordered that all Hebrew male infants be put to death, Moses's mother placed him in a basket made of papyrus and set it floating on the Nile River. The daughter of the Pharaoh rescued him and brought up the infant as if he was her own child. When an adult, Moses killed an Egyptian who had murdered a Hebrew; he then fled from Egypt. Moses was a shepherd until he was 80 years of age. At this time Yahweh, or Jehovah, appeared to him and told him to go back to Egypt to deliver his people and lead them out of Egypt to the land of Canaan where they were to settle permanently.

When the Hebrews reached Sinai, Moses climbed the mountain to speak with Yahweh. He spent 40 days and nights with Yahweh, from whom he received two tablets of stone inscribed with the Ten Commandments. After 40 years of wandering in the desert under Moses's leadership and the endurance of many hardships, the Hebrews at last came to Canaan. Moses was permitted by Yahweh to see Canaan, the Promised Land, from the top of Mount Pisgah, and then he died after turning the leadership of the people to Joshua. Many authorities believe that the exodus took place in the 13th century BC.

Moses is assumed to be the author of the first five books of the Old Testament -the Pentateuch- and also of other parts of the Old Testament, including possibly the Book of Job. Most scholars agree that these books are the work of many authors.

Moses is also well known to Christians; he is mentioned frequently in the New Testament. At Christ's transfiguration, he represents the law. He is also mentioned in the Gospel of John, to show the role of Christ as the fulfilment of the Scriptures.

304- Musaeus

Musaeus, a mythical singer closely allied with Orpheus, was believed to be the son, father, or teacher of Eumolpus. He is also described as one of the mythical founders of the Greek Mysteries.

305- Musonius Rufus

Musonius Rufus lived in the first century AD. He was a stoic moralist and an exile under Emperor Nero. Justin and Origen admired him.

306- Narses the Leper

Narses (or Narsai) the Leper (circa 399-502) was a Nestorian theologian. In 437 he directed the theological school in Edessa and he founded the main Nestorian school of theology in Nisibis in 457. He was exiled after an argument with Barssumas but he soon was allowed to come back to his school Nisibis.

307- Nahum

Nahum was a minor prophet of the 7th century BC whose name was given to an Old Testament book.

308- Nathan

Nathan was a prophet and confidential adviser of David. David wanted to build the Temple and Nathan at first agreed, only to change his mind after receiving a revelation not to allow it to be built.

I Kings tells the story of David and the struggle for the succession of his throne between Adonijah, David's eldest living son, and Solomon, the son of David and Bathsheba. Adonijah was supported by the "old guard" -the general Joab and the priest Abiathar- and Solomon by the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and the captain of David's bodyguard, Benaiah. With David close to death, Adonijah prepared to seize control of the kingdom but Nathan requested Bathsheba to go to David and persuade David to proclaim Solomon the next monarch. Following the advice of Nathan, David then appointed Solomon the heir to his throne. Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed the son of Bathsheba king in Gihon. After David died Adonijah asked Solomon to give him Abishag, a young Shunammite woman who had been given to David in his old age, as his wife. Solomon answered by ordering Adonijah's execution as well as that of the old general Joab.

309- Nebo (or Nabu)

NEBO (or Nabu) was a major god in the Assyro-Babylonian pantheon. He was patron of the art of writing and a god of vegetation. Nabu's symbols were the clay tablet and the stylus, the instruments held to be proper to him who inscribed the fates assigned to men by the gods. According to another tradition Nebo was a Babylonian deity of literature and science. The planet Mercury was sacred to Nebo.

310- Nehemiah

Nehemiah, also spelled Nehemias, lived in the 5th century BC. He was a Jewish leader who supervised the rebuilding of Jerusalem in the mid-5th century BC after his release from captivity by the Persian king Artaxerxes I. He also instituted extensive moral and liturgical reforms in rededicating the Jews to Yahweh. The Temple at Jerusalem had been rebuilt, but the Jewish community there was dispirited and defenceless against its non-Jewish neighbours. Nehemiah went to Palestine in about 444 BC to rebuild its ruined structures. He convinced the people there to the necessity of repopulating the city and rebuilding its walls. Nehemiah encountered hostility from the (non-Jewish) local officials, but in the space of 52 days the Jews rebuild Jerusalem's walls. Nehemiah then served as governor of the small district of Judea for 12 years, during which he undertook various religious and economic reforms before returning to Persia. On a second visit to Jerusalem he strengthened his fellow Jews' observance of the Sabbath and ended the custom of Jewish men marrying foreign-born wives. This latter act helped to keep the Judaeans separate from their non-Jewish neighbours. Ezra continued Nehemiah's work in Palestine. Nehemiah's story is told in the Book of Nehemiah, part of which seems to be based upon the memoirs of Nehemiah but the book itself was compiled by a later, anonymous writer who apparently also compiled the books of Ezra and the Chronicles.

311- Nemesius of Emesa

Nemesius integrated elements from various sources of Hellenistic philosophical and medical literature. The result is a Christian synthesis that cannot be characterized as representing any specific philosophical school. The opening chapter criticizes the concepts of man advanced by the Greeks from Plato to the 3rd-century Christian sectarians; it then emphasizes the place of man in the plan of creation as delineated in the Mosaic literature of the Old Testament and in the letters of St. Paul. Because man bridges the spiritual and material worlds, Nemesius maintains, he requires a unique intelligent principle of life, or soul, proportionate to his dignity and responsibility. He submits that the soul must be an incorporeal, intellectual entity, subsistent in itself, immortal, and yet designed to be one with the body. Nemesius implies that it pre-exists the body but not in the manner of the Platonic myth. In subsequent chapters Nemesius examines the function of the brain, the operation of the senses, imagination, memory, reasoning, and speech; this treatment provided medieval philosophers with a wealth of data from Greek Stoic and other classical empirical philosophers. After considering the emotional and irrational functions of the soul, Nemesius concludes with a study of human will. Repudiating Stoic fatalism and astrology and advocating the Christian belief in divine providence, he explains free will as a concomitant of reason: if man is rational, he must operate with a freedom of choice; otherwise his intelligent, deliberative powers are meaningless.

312- Nephthys

Nephthys was Isis' sister in Egyptian mythology and the wife of the evil god Set who, like Hades, represents the material world. Isis and Nephthys represent the higher and lower aspects of the Goddess.

313- Nestorius

Nestorius who was born in Germanica about the end of the 4th century AD, died in circa 451 AD, was the founder of the Nestorian controversy, a major Christian heresy. He studied at Antioch probably under Theodore of Mopsuestia before entering the monastery of Euprepios near Antioch. Theodosius II appointed him Patriarch of Constantinople in 428. He is the author of the "Bazaar of Heracleides", an apology. Nestorius believed that Mary was not the bearer of God but only the bearer of his human nature. The Synod of Rome of 430 condemned his doctrine. A General Council meeting in Ephebus in 431 deposed Nestorius and he was sent in exile to Egypt in 435. He lived there until his death. A few small Nestorian churches still exist.

314- Newton, Isaac

Newton was born on December 25, 1642, at Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England and he died on March 20, 1727 at London. Newton was an English physicist and mathematician and a leading figure of the scientific revolution of the 17th century. In optics, he discovered the composition of white light, an important step in the science of light that was the foundation for modern physical optics. In mechanics, his three laws of motion are the basic principles of modern physics and led to the law of universal gravitation. In mathematics, he was the original discoverer of the infinitesimal calculus. Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), 1687, was one of the most important single works in the history of modern science. Newton was also interested in religion and theology. In the early 1690s he had written a manuscript to prove that Trinitarian passages in the Bible were latter-day corruptions of the original text but he refused to have it published in fear that his anti-Trinitarian views would become known. Later on he worked on the interpretation of the prophecies of Daniel and St. John. Newton was also a leader of English science. In 1703 he was elected President of the Royal Society. Four years earlier, the French Académie des Sciences (Academy of Sciences) had named him one of eight foreign associates. It is generally agreed that Newton was the first to develop Calculus but also that Leibniz later arrived at the calculus independently.

315- Noetus

Noetus (died about the end of 2d century AD) was a presbyter in Smyrna but he was expelled later on. His doctrine was brought to Rome by his disciples Cleomenes and Epigonus. He believed that the father suffered in the Son and that God is Substantially one, but minimally three. Zephyrinus and Callistus, two bishops of Rome were Noetus' followers.

316- Nonnus of Panopolis

Nonnus of Panapolis was born about 400 AD in Panopolis, Egypt. He was a great Greek epic poet of the Roman period. His chief work is the Dionysiaca, a hexameter poem in 48 books; its main subject is the expedition of the god Dionysus to India. Nonnus' fertile inventiveness and felicitous descriptive fantasy made him the often-imitated leader of the last Greek epic school. His style appealed to the taste of the time. Later in life he was converted to Christianity and composed a hexameter paraphrase of St. John's Gospel (Metabole), which shows all his earlier stylistic faults without his compensatory descriptive ability.

317- Obadiah

Obadiah is the name of one of the twelve Minor Prophets. Obadiah's name was given to one of the books of the Old Testament that is said to be a record of "the vision of Obadiah." Nothing is known of the prophet except for his name, which means "servant of Yahweh."

318- Olympiodorus

The Elder Olympiodorus was a philosopher who had Proclus as a student at Alexandria.

The Younger Olympiodorus was a 6th century AD Neoplatonist philosopher who maintained the Platonic tradition in Alexandria after the Byzantine emperor Justinian had suppressed the Greek Academy at Athens and other pagan schools in AD 529. Olympiodorus' extant works include lucid and valuable commentaries on Plato's Phaedo, Gorgias, Philebus, and Alcibiades; a biography of Plato; an introduction to Aristotle's philosophy; and commentaries on Aristotle's Categories and Meteora.

319- Optatus

Optatus (4th century) was the Bishop of Milevis. In 370 he wrote "Against the Schism of the Donatists" (revised in 385). This book is an important source for the history of the Donatists.

320- Origen

Origen was born around 185 AD probably at Alexandria, Egypt and he died around 254 at Tyre, Phoenicia (now Sur, Lebanon). He studied Pagan philosophy with Plotinus under Ammonius Saccus and became a pupil of Clement. He was the most important theologian and biblical scholar of the early Greek Church. His greatest work is the Hexapla, which is a synopsis of six versions of the Old Testament. It is not clear if his parents were Christian or Pagan. He was a pupil of Clement of Alexandria, whom he succeeded as head of the Catechetical school under the authority of the bishop Demetrius. Origen's life, as described by Eusebius, a Christian writer, bears the embellishments of legends of saints and needs to be treated with this in mind. According to Porphyry, a Neoplatonist philosopher, Origen attended lectures given by Ammonius Saccas, the founder of Neoplatonism. He met Heraclas, who was to become his junior colleague, then his rival, and who was to end as bishop of Alexandria. At Alexandria he wrote Miscellanies (Stromateis), On the Resurrection (Peri anastaseos), and On First Principles (De principiis). He also began his immense commentary on St. John, written to refute the commentary of the Gnostic follower of Valentinus, Heracleon. His studies were interrupted by visits to Rome (where he met the theologian Hippolytus), Arabia, Antioch, and Palestine. He was ordained presbyter at Caesarea. Later Origen lived at Caesarea, where he opened a school that attracted many pupils. One of his most notable students was Gregory Thaumaturgus, later bishop of Neocaesarea. During the persecution under the emperor Decius (250), Origen was imprisoned and tortured but survived to die several years later. He is generally described as being a Literalist Christian although he was closer to Gnosticism. In the 5th century, the Roman Catholic Church condemned him as a heretic.

321- Orosius, Paulus

Orosius was probably born in Braga, Spain and he was especially active around 414-417. He was an early Christian orthodox, theologian, and author of the first world history by a Christian. As a priest Orosius went in about 414 to Hippo, where he met St. Augustine who, in 415, sent him to Palestine to oppose Pelagianism. At a synod Orosius accused Pelagius of heresy. Early in 416 he returned to Augustine, who asked him to compose a historical apology of Christianity, Historiarum adversus paganos libri VII (Seven Books of Histories Against the Pagans). This book chronicles the history of the world from its creation through the founding and history of Rome up until AD 417.

322- Orpheus

Orpheus was an ancient Greek legendary hero endowed with superhuman musical skills. Traditionally, Orpheus was the son of a Muse (probably Calliope) and Oeagrus, a king of Thrace (or Apollo). Orpheus' singing and playing were so beautiful that animals and even trees and rocks moved about him in dance. Orpheus joined the expedition of the Argonauts, saving them from the music of the Sirens by playing his own, more powerful music. On his return, he married Eurydice, who was soon killed by a snake. Overcome with grief, Orpheus ventured himself to the land of the dead to attempt to bring Eurydice back to life. His music and grief so moved Hades, king of the underworld that Orpheus was allowed to take Eurydice with him back to the world of life and light. Hades set one condition: upon leaving the land of death, both Orpheus and Eurydice were forbidden to look back. The couple climbed up toward the opening into the land of the living, and Orpheus, seeing the Sun again, turned back to share his delight with Eurydice. In that moment, she disappeared. The women of Thrace later killed Orpheus. His head, still singing, with his lyre, floated to Lesbos, where an oracle of Orpheus was established. The dismembered limbs of Orpheus were gathered up and buried by the Muses and they had placed his lyre in the heavens as a constellation.

323- Osiris

Osiris was one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt. Initially he was a local god of fertility in Busiris, in Lower Egypt. By about 2400 BC, however, Osiris clearly played a double role: he was both a god of fertility and the embodiment of the dead and resurrected king. This dual role was in turn combined with the Egyptian concept of divine kingship: the king at death became Osiris, god of the underworld; and the dead king's son, the living king, was identified with Horus, a god of the sky. Osiris and Horus were thus father and son. The goddess Isis was the mother of the king and was thus the mother of Horus and consort of Osiris. According to the form of the myth reported by the Greek author Plutarch, Osiris was slain or drowned by Seth, who tore the corpse into 14 pieces and flung them over Egypt. Eventually, Isis and her sister Nephthys found and buried all the pieces, except the phallus, thereby giving new life to Osiris, who remained in the underworld as ruler and judge. Horus later defeated Seth and became the new king of Egypt. Osiris was not only ruler of the dead but also the power that granted all life from the underworld, from sprouting vegetation to the annual flood of the Nile River. From about 2000 BC onward it was believed that every man, not just the deceased kings, became associated with Osiris at death. This identification with Osiris, however, did not imply resurrection, for even Osiris did not rise from the dead. Instead, it signified the renewal of life both in the next world and through one's descendants on Earth. Osiris festivals symbolically re-enacting the god's fate were celebrated annually in various towns throughout Egypt. At Memphis the holy bull, Apis, was linked with Osiris, becoming Osiris-Apis, which eventually became the name of the Hellenistic god Sarapis. Greco-Roman authors connected Osiris with the god Dionysus. Osiris was also identified with Soker, an ancient Memphite god of the dead.

324- Ovid

Ovid (43 BC-AD 17?) was a Roman poet whose narrative skill and linguistic virtuosity made him very popular. Ovid's frivolous and often licentious verse ran against the program of social and moral renewal promoted by Emperor Augustus in the wake of Rome's disastrous civil wars (49-31 BC).

Ovid was born Publius Ovidius Naso into a middle class family in Sulmo, near Rome. Educated in law, he became a good rhetorician, but he is better known as a poet. Ovid studied in Athens and he travelled in Asia and Sicily. In AD 8, Ovid was banished to Tomi, in the Roman province of Dacia (Romania). According to Ovid, one reason for his banishment was his writing. A second reason may have been his knowledge of a scandal involving the emperor's daughter, Julia. Ovid remained a Roman and always hoped to return to Rome but he died at Tomi.

The poetry of Ovid falls into three divisions:

- In his youth, Ovid' main works are: "Amores", erotic poems centred on Corinna; "Medea", a tragedy highly praised by ancient critics; "Heroides, or Epistulae Heroidum", 21 fictional love letters, mostly from mythological heroines to their lovers.

- In his middle period Ovid's main writings are: "Metamorphoses", 15 books about the transformations recorded in mythology and legend from the creation of the world to the time of Roman emperor Julius Caesar; "Fasti", a poetic calendar describing the various Roman festivals and the legends connected with each.

- The main works composed during the period of Ovid's exile are: "Tristia", five books of elegies that describe his unhappy existence at Tomi and appeal to the mercy of Augustus and the "Epistulae ex Ponto", poetic letters.

Ovid was one of the most influential of Roman poets during the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century) and the Renaissance (14th century to 17th century).

325- Pachomius (Saint)

Pachomius was born about 290 AD probably in Upper Egypt and he died in 346. He was the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. Of Egyptian origin, Pachomius encountered Coptic, or Egyptian, Christianity among his cohorts in the Roman emperor Constantine's North African army. When he left the military about 314, he withdrew alone into the wilderness but soon after, he joined the hermit Palemon and a colony of solitaries (anchorites). He drew up a daily program providing periods of work and prayer around a cooperative economic and disciplinary regime. This rule was the first instance in Christian monastic history of the use of a cenobitic, or uniform communal existence. Pachomius instituted a monarchic monastic structure where the religious superior's centralized authority over the community was seen as the symbolic image of God. By the time he died, Pachomius had founded 11 monasteries, numbering more than 7,000 monks and nuns. The Rule of Pachomius only existed in the 5th-century Latin translation of St. Jerome.

326- Palladius

Palladius was born circa 363 at Galatia, Anatolia and he died before 431 at Aspuna. He was a Galatian monk, bishop, and chronicler whose Lausiac History, an account of early Egyptian and Middle Eastern Christian monasticism, provides a valuable source on the origins of Christian asceticism. Palladius practised ascetism, first at the Mount of Olives, the scene of Christ's Passion, then in Egypt in the Nitrian desert, now Wadi an-Natrun. Returning to Palestine about 399 because of poor health, he was named bishop of Helenopolis, near modern Istanbul. Soon after 400, Palladius defended his theological teacher St. John Chrysostom, patriarch of Constantinople, against charges of heresy. Enemies both at the rival theological school of Alexandria and at Constantinople's imperial court accused him of doctrinal errors. For his support of Chrysostom at Byzantium and at Rome, the Eastern Roman emperor Arcadius exiled Palladius for six years, during which he wrote his Dialogue on the Life of St. John Chrysostom. In 413, after his banishment was lifted, Palladius became bishop of Aspuna in Galatia, and during 419-420 he composed his chronicles on "The Lives of the Friends of God," referring to the earliest Christian ascetics in the various wilderness areas of Egypt and Asia Minor.

327- Pamphilus

Pamphilus (circa 240-309) was a pupil of Pierus of Alexandria, a presbyter at Caesarea in Palestine, and the founder of a church library around a collection of Origen's works. He wrote five books of an "Apology for Origen" now lost. He was arrested in 307 and executed in 309.

328- Pantaenus

Pantaenus (died around 190) was the first known teacher at the catechetical school in Alexandria and the teacher of Clement of Alexandria. He was born in Sicily. After his conversion from Stoicism he became a missionary teacher going as far as India. He is believed to be the author of the "Epistle to Diognetus".

329- Papias of Hierapolis

Papias was a second century (he died about 130 AD) bishop of Hierapolis, Phrygia (now in Turkey). Only fragment of his book "Explanation of the Sayings of the Lord," reached us but they are important apostolic source accounts of the history of primitive Christianity and of the origins of the Gospels. According to Irenaeus, Papias had known the Apostle John. The church historian Eusebius of Caesarea recorded that Papias derived his material not only from John the Evangelist but also from John the Presbyter. Eusabius added that through the latest's influence, Papias had taught the early patristic theologians the apocalyptic teaching that Christ would reappear to transform the world into a 1,000-year era of universal peace. In consequence Eusebius edited Papias' work and preserved a small part of it. Eastern and Western Christian theologians used Papias' interpretation of the Gospels until the early 4th century.

330- Paracelsus

Paracelsus was born on November 11 or December 17, 1493 at Einsiedeln, Switzerland and he died on September 24, 1541 at Salzburg, Archbishopric of Salzburg (now in Austria). His full name was PHILIPPUS AUREOLUS THEOPHRASTUS BOMBASTUS VON HOHENHEIM, but he was better known as Paracelsus. He was a German-Swiss physician and alchemist who established the role of chemistry in medicine. He published Der grossen Wundartzney ("Great Surgery Book") in 1536. Paracelsus was the only son of a poor German doctor and chemist. His mother died when he was a small boy and his father moved to Villach in southern Austria. The boy attended the Bergschule where his father taught chemical theory and practice. There the pupils trained to become mining operators. Miners told Paracelsus that metals "grow" in the earth, he watched their transformations in the smelting vats, and probably wondered if he could transmute lead into gold, as the alchemists sought. Paracelsus gained insight into metallurgy and chemistry that led to his later discoveries in chemotherapy. In 1507, at the age of 14, he joined the wandering youths who travelled across Europe in the late Middle Ages, seeking famous teachers at one university after another. During the next five years Paracelsus attended the universities of Basel, Tübingen, Vienna, Wittenberg, Leipzig, Heidelberg, and Cologne but was disappointed with them all.

331- Parmenides

Parmenides was born around 515 BC. He was an Italian Pythagorean philosopher of Elea in southern Italy who went to Athens where he taught Socrates and others. His teaching has been reconstructed from the surviving fragments of his principal work, a three-part verse composition titled On Nature. Parmenides held that the multiplicity of existing things, their changing forms and motion, are but an appearance of a single eternal reality ("Being"), thus giving rise to the principle that "all is one." From this concept of Being, he went on to say that all claims of change or of non-Being are illogical.

332- Patrick, Saint

Patrick (389/461) lived in Britain and Ireland. He is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland, credited with bringing Christianity to this country, and probably responsible in part for the Christianisation of the Picts and Anglo-Saxons. He wrote two short works, the Confessio, a spiritual autobiography, and his Epistola, a denunciation of British mistreatment of Irish Christians.

333- Paul of Constantinople

Paul of Constantinople (died after 350) was born in Thessalonica. He came to Constantinople in about 330 and became Bishop of that town around 335. A friend of Athanasius, he voted against him at a trial in Constantinople but later rescinded. Exiled to Pontus by Costantines he came back after his death. When Constancius took the city in 338, Paul was exiled again and replaced by Eusebius of Nicomedia.

334- Paul of Samosata

Paul of Samosata was a third century heretical bishop of Antioch in Syria and proponent of a kind of dynamic monarchian doctrine on the nature of Jesus Christ. He was a worldly cleric of humble origin who became bishop of Antioch in 260. Paul held that it was a man who was born of Mary, through whom God spoke his Word (Logos). Jesus was a man who became divine, rather than God become man. A similar speculative Christology was found among the primitive Ebionites of Judaea and in Theodotus and Artemon of Rome. Paul influenced the biblical scholar Lucian of Antioch and his school. The 7th-century Paulicians of Armenia may have claimed to continue his traditions, hence their name. Between 263 and 268 at least three church councils were held at Antioch to debate Paul's orthodoxy. The third condemned his doctrine and deposed him.

335- Paul of Tarsus (Saint)

Paul was born around AD 10 in Tarsus in Cilicia [now in Turkey] and he died around 67 in Rome. His name was Saul of Tarsus, clearly a Jew who, after first being an enemy of Christianity, was converted only a few years after the death of Jesus, to become the leading Apostle of the new Church. He played a decisive part in extending it beyond the limits of Judaism to become a worldwide religion. His letters are the earliest existing Christian writings. They show his theological skill and his pastoral understanding. Paul the Apostle created the Christian Church, as we know it today. He was not the first to preach to the Gentiles but his stand against the Judaising party was decisive. It was due to Paul more than anyone else that Christianity grew from being a small sect within Judaism to become a world religion. Paul's surviving letters became a standard of reference for Christian teaching. The theories of atonement, the reconciliation of mankind to God through the sacrificial death of Christ, rely heavily on Paul. Augustine built on Paul's idea of predestination, divine grace is necessary for salvation, to clarify God's predestined plan of universal salvation and the concept that this does not necessarily conflict with the exercise of free will. The reformers of the 16th century relied on Paul too. Martin Luther used the doctrine of justification by faith and made the distinction between faith and works the basis of his attack on the late medieval church. John Calvin drew from Paul his concept of the church as the company of the elect adding that predestination to salvation belongs only to the elect. Paul's teaching, through the later work of Augustine, dominated the Reformation. Attempts to derive Paul's ideas from Greek or Gnostic influences did not lead anywhere. Paul stands as a Christian Jew, whose conversion convinced him that Christ was the universal Lord under God.

He is generally described as a Christian Literalist but the Gnostics claims that he was the "Great Apostle" of Gnosticism.

336- Paul of Thebes, Saint

Paul of Thebes, also called Paul The Hermit, was born circa 230 near Thebes, Egypt, and he died circa 341 in the Theban desert. He was an ascetic who is traditionally regarded as the first Christian hermit although this honour, today, is generally given to St. Anthony of Egypt. According to St. Jerome, his biographer, Paul fled to the Theban desert during the persecution of Christians (249-251) under the Roman emperor Decius. Thereafter, he lived a life of prayer and penitence in a cave, dying at the reputed age of 113.

337- Pausanias

Pausanias wrote between 143 and 176 AD. He was born in Lydia [now in Turkey] and he died in 176. He was a Greek traveller and geographer whose Periegesis Hellados (Description of Greece) is an invaluable guide to ancient ruins. Pausanias also travelled in Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Macedonia, Epirus (now in Greece and Albania), and parts of Italy. His main writing is divided into 10 books. His account of each important city begins with a sketch of its history. He gives a few glimpses into the daily life, ceremonial rites, and superstitious customs of the inhabitants and frequently introduces legend and folklore. He also describes the Mystery rites used in the temples he visited. The remains of buildings in all parts of Greece have proved the accuracy of his descriptions.

338- Pelagius

Pelagius was born about 354 probably in Britain and he died after 418, possibly in Palestine. He was a monk and theologian who founded a heterodox theological system known as Pelagianism based on the primacy of human effort in spiritual salvation. Pelagius, though not a priest, became a highly regarded spiritual director for both clergy and laymen in Rome about 380. The asceticism of his adherents acted as a reproach to the spiritual laxity of many Roman Christians. He blamed Rome's moral laxity on the doctrine of divine grace. Pelagius attacked this teaching that, in his view, imperilled the entire moral law; he had many followers at Rome. His closest collaborator was a lawyer named Celestius. After the fall of Rome to the Visigoth Alaric in 410, Pelagius and Celestius went to Africa. There they encountered the hostile criticism of Augustine, who published several denunciatory letters concerning their doctrine. Pelagius left for Palestine around 412. He was accused of heresy at the synod of Jerusalem in 415 but he succeeded in clearing himself, avoiding censure. Following further attacks from Augustine and Jerome, Pelagius wrote De libero arbitrio ("On Free Will") in 416, which resulted in the condemnation of his teaching by two African councils. In 417 Pope Innocent excommunicated Pelagius and Celestius. Innocent's successor, Zosimus, at first pronounced him innocent on the basis of Pelagius' Libellus fidei ("Brief Statement of Faith"). After renewed investigation at the council of Carthage in 418, Zosimus confirmed the council's condemnation of Pelagius.

339- Persephone

Persephone, in Greek mythology, was the daughter of Zeus, the father of the gods, and of Demeter, goddess of the earth and of agriculture. Hades, god of the underworld, fell in love with Persephone and wished to marry her. Although Zeus gave his consent, Demeter was unwilling. Hades, therefore, seized the maiden as she was gathering flowers and carried her off to his realm. Zeus sent Hermes, the messenger of the gods, to bring Persephone back to her mother. Before Hades would let her go, he asked her to eat a pomegranate seed, the food of the dead. She was thus compelled to return to the underworld for one-third of the year. As both the goddess of the dead and the goddess of the fertility of the earth, Persephone was a personification of the revival of nature in spring.

340- Peter (Simon Peter), Saint

Peter was the most prominent of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ, a leader and missionary in the early church, and traditionally the first bishop of Rome. From the Gospels we know that the name he received at birth was Simon. The Greek word petros ("rock") and its Aramaic equivalent, cephas, were not in use as personal names. "Peter" is thus a metaphorical or symbolic designation.

Peter is known through the letters of Paul, written between AD 50 and 60; the four canonical Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, written from about AD 65 to the end of the 1st century; two canonical letters bearing Peter's name as author and probably written in the 2nd century by someone else. He was called by Jesus to be a disciple, and he became prominent among the Twelve. After Jesus' arrest, Peter denied being associated with him. Peter played an important role in the early Christian church at Jerusalem, having received a special call to preach the gospel to his fellow Jews. In time, Peter taught Christianity to the Gentiles, together with the apostle Paul. The Jewish Christians required converts to Christianity to be circumcised and to abide by Jewish dietary restrictions but Peter declared that the Christian message of salvation did not require that Gentiles adhere to specific legal and ritual precepts of Judaism.

Peter was viewed as the rock on which the church was founded, because Jesus so designated him. Peter travelled about in his missionary activity, accompanied by his wife, and finally died the death of a martyr in Rome in about 64 AD. He was made a Saint.

When the bishop of Rome came to be regarded as the most prominent bishop in Christendom, the image of Peter as a pastor was combined with the tradition of his martyr's death in Rome to serve as the basis of the doctrine of apostolic succession, according to which each Roman bishop was regarded as the successor to Peter, to whom Jesus had entrusted the keys to the kingdom of God.

341- Peter of Alexandria

Peter of Alexandria who died as a martyr under Maximinus in 311 was Bishop of Alexandria from 300.

342- Philip the Apostle, Saint

Philip was born in Bethsaida in Galilee; he died during the 1st century AD. He was one of the Twelve Apostles. According to John, he answered Jesus' call ("Follow me"). At that time Philip belonged to a group led by St. John the Baptist. He participated in the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Philip asked Jesus to reveal the Father, receiving the answer, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father." Nothing more is known about him from the New Testament. In later legends he was often confused with St. Philip the Evangelist (Philip the Deacon), one of the seven deacons of the early church. His apostolate was supposedly in the territory of Scythia. He died of natural causes but, according to another tradition, of crucifixion. The Acts of Philip are apocryphal and probably date from the 3rd/4th century.

343- Philip the Arabian

Philip the Arabian who died in 249 was Roman Emperor from 244. He was a Christian according to Eusebius.

344- Philip the Evangelist

Philip the Evangelist who was born in the 1st century was also called Philip The Deacon. In the early Christian church he was one of the seven deacons appointed to tend the Christians of Jerusalem enabling the Apostles to conduct their missions. His energetic preaching earned him the title of Philip the Evangelist and led him to minister in Samaria, in Palestine, where he converted, among others, the famous magician Simon Magus. Philip's missionary journey ended at Caesarea, where he raised his four daughters, reputed to be prophets, and where, about AD 58, he entertained the Apostle St. Paul. According to Greek tradition, he became bishop of Tralles (modern Aydin, Turkey).

345- Philo Judaeus or Philo of Alexandria

Philo was born in 15 BC (or 25) and he died in AD 45 (or 50) both at Alexandria; he was also called Philo of Alexandria. Philo was a Greek-speaking Jewish philosopher, a representative of Hellenistic Judaism. His writings provide the clearest view of this development of Judaism in the Diaspora. His writings deal extensively with the concept of "Logos" and he is often seen as the initiator of the Christian Gnostic doctrine. He is the bridge between the Greek philosophical tradition and the latter Christian Gnosticism.

Little is known of the life of Philo. Josephus, the historian of the Jews who also lived in the 1st century, says that Philo's family was noble. The community of Alexandria had been almost exclusively Greek-speaking for nearly three centuries and indeed regarded the Septuagint as divinely inspired. Philo was a part of the Greek culture of his time: he knew the techniques of the Greek rhetorical schools; and he praises the gymnasium. Like the cultured Greeks of his day, Philo often attended the theatre. Philo only attended Jewish schools that met on the Sabbath for lectures on ethics. He regarded himself as an observant Jew. Philo says nothing of his own religious practices but he went at least once on a festival pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Philo's work is very important to those who research the relationship of Palestine and the Diaspora in the realm of law (halakah) and ritual observance. He experienced some identity crisis as indicated by a passage in his "On the Special Laws" in which he describes his longing to escape from worldly cares to the contemplative life and his joy at having done so with the Egyptian Jewish ascetic sect of the Therapeutae described in his treatise "On the Contemplative Life". Philo did not always like his life in Alexandria: He praised the Essenes for living outside the cities, for living an agricultural life, and for disdaining wealth.

346- Philostorgius

Philostorgius was born in AD 368 at Borissus, Cappadocia [near modern Kayseri, Turkey] and he died circa 433 probably at Constantinople. He was a Byzantine historian, partisan of Arianism, a Christian heresy asserting the inferiority of Christ to God the Father. His Church History, preserved in part, was an extensive collection of Arian source texts and furnished valuable data on the history, personalities, and intellectual milieu of theological controversy in the early church. Philostorgius was the son of a staunch Arian, he studied in Constantinople, and became a follower of Eunomius of Cyzicus, a leading exponent of extreme Arianism. This branch of the heresy stressed an absolute monotheism: only the Father is perfect God; the Son, Christ, is created. Between 425 and 433, Philostorgius wrote his Church History in 12 books, after visiting Arian communities throughout the Eastern Empire. The work, covering the period 300 to 425, was intended to continue the monumental Ecclesiastical History by the 4th-century chronicler Eusebius of Caesarea. Philostorgius did not attack the orthodox leaders Gregory Nazianzene and Basil of Caesarea. The History appealed to the cultured Greek and it also depicts the Arian response to the pagan accusation that Christianity influenced the political misfortunes of the Greco-Roman empire and civilization. He believed that the collapse of classical culture into barbarism verified Christian apocalyptic teaching, or the predictions of the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ.

347- Philostratus, Flavius

Philostratus, Flavius, the Athenian, was born in 170 AD and he died around 245. He was a Greek writer who studied at Athens and some time after 202 entered the circle of the philosophical Syrian empress of Rome, Julia Domna. On her death he settled in Tyre. He wrote the Gymnasticus (a treatise dealing with athletic contests); a life of the Pythagorean philosopher Apollonius of Tyana; Bioi sophiston (Lives of the Sophists), treating both the classical Sophists of the 5th century BC and later philosophers and rhetoricians; a discourse on nature and law; and the epistles ("Love Letters").

348- Pico della Mirandola

Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni Conte di Concordia, was born on February 24, 1463 at Mirandola, duchy of Ferrara, Italy and he died on November 17, 1494 at Florence. He was an Italian scholar and Platonist philosopher whose De hominis dignitate oratio ("Oration on the Dignity of Man"), a characteristic Renaissance work composed in 1486 by taking the best elements from other philosophies and combining them in his own work. His father, Giovanni Francesco Pico, prince of the small territory of Mirandola, gave him a humanistic education at home. Pico then studied canon law at Bologna and Aristotelian philosophy at Padua and visited Paris and Florence, where he learned Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. At Florence he met Marsilio Ficino, a Renaissance Platonist philosopher. Introduced to the Hebrew Kabbala, Pico became the first Christian scholar to use Kabbalistic doctrine in support of Christian theology. In 1486, he wrote 900 theses he had drawn from diverse Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin writers and he invited scholars from all of Europe to Rome for a public disputation. A papal commission found that 13 of the theses were heretical, and Pope Innocent VIII cancelled the assembly. Pico fled to France but was arrested there. After a brief imprisonment he settled in Florence, where he became associated with the Platonic Academy, under the protection of the Florentine prince Lorenzo de' Medici. Pope Alexander VI absolved him from the charge of heresy in 1492. Pico's other works include an exposition of Genesis under the title Heptaplus (Greek hepta, "seven"), indicating his seven points of argument, and a synoptic treatment of Plato and Aristotle, of which the completed work De ente et uno (Of Being and Unity) is a portion. Pico's works were first collected in Commentationes Joannis Pici Mirandulae (1495-96).

349- Pilate, Pontius

Pilate, Pontius, lived in the 1st century AD. He became the Roman military governor, or procurator, of the imperial province of Judea from 26 to 36. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus described him as a hard administrator who did not understand the religious convictions and national pride of the Jews. Pilate is known mainly for his connection with the trial and execution of Jesus Christ. His culpability in the case has been the subject of debate ever since.

The governor of Judea had complete judicial authority over all non-Roman citizens, but the Sanhedrin, the Jewish supreme council and tribunal decided many cases. According to the Gospels, after the Sanhedrin found Jesus guilty of blasphemy, it sent him to the Roman court because it lacked authority to impose the death sentence. Pilate refused to approve the judgment without investigation. The Jewish priests then made other charges against Jesus, and the governor had a private interview with him. The fear of an uprising in Jerusalem forced Pilate to accede to the demand of the populace, and Jesus was executed. Pilate was recalled to Rome in 36.

350- Pindar

Pindar was born in 518/522 BC at Cynoscephalae, Boeotia, Greece and he died after 446, probably around 438 at Argos. He was the greatest lyric poet of ancient Greece, the master of choral odes celebrating victories achieved in the Pythian, Olympic, Isthmian, and Nemean games. Pindar was of noble birth, possibly from a Spartan family, the Aegeids. His uncle Scopelinus, a skilled flute player, helped with Pindar's musical training. Such a background gave Pindar entry into aristocratic circles in other Greek cities, where his manifest gifts as a poet might be valued more highly than in Boeotia. Pindar was sent to Athens to complete his training and education. He studied the choral lyric poets of the past, Alcman and Stesichorus in particular, and the work of his elder contemporaries, Simonides of Ceos and Lasus of Hermione. He also learned the poetry of Homer and Hesiod, and he received training in the techniques of choral composition in the city where dithyramb (a choral lyric) was cultivated and where tragedy was beginning to evolve from the dramatic ritual dance performed at religious festivals of the god Dionysus.

351- Pionius

Pionius who died about 250 was a martyr during the ecian persecution. He is thought to be the author of "Life of Polycarp" that still exists in part.

352- Plato

Ancient Greek philosopher born in 428/427 BC in Athens or Aegina, Greece and he died in 348/347 in Athens. He was Socrates' disciple and the founder of the philosophical school in Athens (the Academy). He was the second of the great trio of ancient Greek philosophers -Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle- who between them laid the philosophical foundations of Western culture. Building on Socrates' teaching, Plato developed an important system of philosophy. His thought has ethical, logical, epistemological, and metaphysical aspects. However he was also a mystic who relied also on conjectures and myth. On the whole, however, Plato was a rationalist, devoted to the proposition that reason must be followed wherever it leads. Of Plato's character and personality little is known, and little can be inferred from his writings. But it is worth recording that Aristotle, his most able pupil, described Plato as a man "whom it is blasphemy in the base even to praise," meaning that Plato was so noble a character that bad men should not even speak about him.

353- Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Elder was born in AD 23 at Novum Comum, Transpadane Gaul (now Italy) and he died on August 24, 79 at Stabiae, near Mt. Vesuvius. He was a Roman savant and author of the celebrated Natural History, an encyclopaedic work that was an authority on scientific matters up to the Middle Ages. Pliny came from a rich family and he studied in Rome. At the age of 23, he began a military career serving in Germany and rising to the rank of cavalry commander. Back in Rome, he possibly studied law. He became procurator in Spain near the end of Nero's reign, having lived before in semiretirement, studying and writing. He returned to Rome in AD 69 to serve under Vespasian, and assumed various official positions. Pliny's last assignment was that of commander of the fleet in the Bay of Naples charged to suppress piracy. He tried to reassure the terrified citizens after an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, but he was overcome by the fumes from the volcanic activity and died on August 24, 79.

354- Pliny the Younger

Pliny the Younger was born in AD 61, or 62 at Comum (Italy) and he died in about 113 at Bithynia, Asia Minor (now in Turkey). Pliny was a Roman author and administrator who left a collection of private letters illustrating public and private life in the Roman Empire. He was born in a rich family and his uncle, Pliny the Elder, adopted him. He began to practice law at 18 and his good reputation in the civil-law courts gave him the opportunity to move to the more important political court. His most notable success (100) was securing condemnation for corruption of a governor in Africa and a group of officials from Spain. Meanwhile he had attained the highest administrative posts of praetor (93) and consul (100). Pliny headed the military treasury and the senatorial treasury (94-100). After administering the drainage board of the city of Rome (104-106), he was sent (c. 110) by Emperor Trajan to investigate corruption in the municipal administration of Bithynia, where he died two years later. Between 100 and 109 he published nine books of selected, private letters. The 10th book contains addresses to Emperor Trajan on official problems and the emperor's replies. The composition of these litterae curiosius scriptae ("letters written with special care") was a fashion among the wealthy, and Pliny developed it into a miniature art form. There are letters of advice to young men, notes of greeting and inquiry, and descriptions of scenes of natural beauty or of natural curiosities. His letters to Tacitus tell what is known about the date and circumstances of the composition of the Historiae, to which Pliny contributed his account of the eruption of Vesuvius. The biographer Suetonius was among his protégés.

355- Plotinus

Plotinus (AD 205-70) was a Roman philosopher, who founded Neoplatonism. Plotinus was probably born in Egypt where he studied ten years with the philosopher Ammonius Saccas at Alexandria. He went to Rome in about 244, where he established a school and where he spoke on Pythagorean and Platonic wisdom, and on asceticism. At the age of 60 Plotinus planned to establish a communistic commonwealth on the model of The Republic by Plato, but the project failed because of the opposition of the Emperor Gallienus's counsellors. Plotinus continued to teach and write until his death. His works comprise 54 treatises in Greek, called the Enneads, 6 groups of 9 books each, an arrangement probably made by his student Porphyry (AD 232-c. 304), who edited his writings. Plotinus's system was based chiefly on Plato's theory of Ideas, but whereas Plato assumed archetypal Ideas to be the link between the supreme deity and the world of matter, Plotinus accepted a doctrine of emanation. This doctrine supposes the constant transmission of powers from the Absolute Being, or the One, to the creation through several agencies, the first of which is nous, or pure intelligence, whence flows the soul of the world; from this, in turn, flow the souls of humans and animals, and finally matter. Human beings thus belong to two worlds, that of the senses and that of pure intelligence. Inasmuch as matter is the cause of all evil, the object of life should be to escape the material world of the senses, and hence people should abandon all earthly interests for those of intellectual meditation; by purification and by the exercise of thought people can gradually lift themselves to an intuition of the nous, and ultimately to a complete and ecstatic union with the One-that is, God.

356- Plutarch

Plutarch was born in 46 AD at Chaeronea, Boeotia [Greece] and he died after 119. He was a biographer and author whose works strongly influenced the evolution of the essay, the biography, and historical writing in Europe from the 16th to the 19th century. Among his approximately 227 works, the most important are:

The "Bioi paralleloi" (Parallel Lives), in which he recounts the noble deeds and characters of Greek and Roman soldiers, legislators, orators, and statesmen.

The Moralia, or Ethica, a series of more than 60 essays on ethical, religious, physical, political, and literary topics.

357- Polycarp (Saint)

Polycarp lived in the 2nd century; he was the Greek bishop of Smyrna and the leading 2nd-century Christian figure in Roman Asia. By his major writing, The Letter to the Philippians, and by his widespread moral authority, Polycarp combated various heretical sects, including certain Gnostic groups. Polycarp's Letter to the Philippians refutes the Gnostics' argument that God's incarnation in Christ as well as his death and Resurrection were imaginary phenomena of purely moral or mythological significance. At that time the Gnostic heretics had adopted Paul as a primary authority. Polycarp reclaimed Paul as a treasured figure of the Orthodox Church. Polycarp's Letter to the Philippians is important for its early testimony to the existence of other New Testament texts. Toward the end of his life Polycarp visited Bishop Anicetus of Rome to discuss with him the date of the celebration of the Easter festival, a controversy that threatened to provoke a schism between Rome and Asia Minor. The two men could not reach agreement and Rome and Asia Minor would follow different practices. On his return to Smyrna, Polycarp was arrested by the Roman proconsul and burned to death when he refused to renounce Christianity.

358- Polycrates

Polycrates (2d century AD) was Bishop of Ephesus in about 190. He also was the leader of the Asia Minor Church in its struggle to retain its rites against the Roman Church insistence upon uniform Easter observance. Victor excommunicated him.

359- Pontius Pilate

See Pilate Pontius.

360- Porphyry

Porphyry was born about 234 AD in Tyre [modern Sur, Lebanon] or Batanaea [in modern Syria] and he died in 305 probably in Rome. He was a Pagan Neoplatonist Greek philosopher, an editor and a biographer of the philosopher Plotinus and he wrote commentaries on Aristotle's Categories. He studied rhetoric under Cassius Longinus and philosophy (263-268?) in Athens. He met Plotinus in Rome in 263. In 301 he produced his most important work, Enneads, a collection of the works of Plotinus to which was prefixed a biography. Porphyry's voluminous writings extended to philosophy, religion, philology, and science. Surviving fragments of his "Against the Christians", which was condemned in 448 to be burned, showed him as a critic of the new religion. He was also lecturer on Plotinus and tutor to the Syrian philosopher Iamblichus and he wrote a life of the mathematician Pythagoras.

360bis - Pothinus

Irenaeus succeeded the martyred Pothinus as bishop of Lugdunum after the persecutions in Gaul in 177.

361- Praxeas

Praxeas (2d-3d century AD) was an Asiatic Christian who came to Rome in 190 and then went to Africa. He opposed Montanism and taught modalistic monarchianism or Patripassianism.

362- Pricillian

Priscillian who died in 385 was the Bishop of Avila, Spain from about 380 and the founder of a Gnostic sect (Priscillianism).

363- Proclu

Proclu who died in 446 was the Patriarch of Constantinople from 434. He was known for trying to:

- Promote the acceptance of the definitions of the Council of Ephesus (431).

- Strengthen the union of the Orientaals and Cyril of Alexandria.

- Reconcile the Johanites.

- Settle the quarrel about Theodore of Mopsuestia.

364- Proclus

Proclus was born in 410 in Constantinople [now Istanbul] and he died in 485 in Athens; he was the last major Greek philosopher. He was influential in helping Neoplatonic ideas to spread throughout the Byzantine, Islamic, and Roman worlds. Proclus studied philosophy under Olympiodorus the Elder at Alexandria and, at Athens, under the Greek philosophers Plutarch and Syrianus, whom he followed as one of the last heads of the Academy founded by Plato c. 387 BC and closed by Justinian in 529 AD. Remaining there until his death, he helped refine and systematize the Neoplatonic views of the 3rd-century Greek philosopher Iamblichus. Like Iamblichus, Proclus opposed Christianity and passionately defended paganism. As a Neoplatonic Idealist, he emphasized that thoughts comprise reality, while concrete "things" are mere appearances. Ultimate reality, the "One," is both God and the Good and unifies his ethical and theological systems. His attitudes significantly influenced subsequent Christian theology, in both East and West. The most important Arabic philosophical work to transmit Proclus' ideas was the Liber de causis ("Book of Causes"), which passed as a work of Aristotle in medieval times despite its dependence upon Proclus' own Institutio theologica (Elements of Theology). The Elements is a concise exposition of Neoplatonic metaphysics in 211 propositions. His Elements of Physics distilled the essence of Aristotle's views, and his In Platonis theologiam (Platonic Theology) explained Plato's metaphysics. Proclus was also the author of numerous non-philosophical writings, including astronomical, mathematical, and grammatical works.

365- Prometheus

In Greek religion Prometheus was one of the Titans, the supreme trickster, and a god of fire. He became a master craftsman, and as a result he was associated with fire and the creation of man. The Greek poet Hesiod related two principal legends concerning Prometheus.

- Zeus, the chief god, who had been tricked by Prometheus into accepting the bones and fat of sacrifice instead of the meat, hid fire from man. Prometheus stole it and returned it to Earth once again. As the price of fire, and as punishment for mankind in general, Zeus created the woman Pandora and sent her down to Epimetheus (Hindsight), who, though warned by Prometheus, married her. Pandora took the great lid off the jar she carried, and evils, hard work, and disease flew out to wander among mankind.

- As vengeance on Prometheus, Zeus had him chained and sent an eagle to eat his immortal liver, which constantly replenished itself. Aeschylus made him not only the bringer of fire and civilization to men but also their preserver, giving man all the arts and sciences as well as the means of survival.

366- Prosper of Aquitaine, Saint

Prosper of Aquitaine was born circa 390 at Lemovices, Aquitania and he died circa 463, probably at Rome. He was an early Christian polemicist known for his defence of Augustine of Hippo and his doctrine on grace, predestination, and free will, which became a norm for the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Prosper's chief opponents were the Semi-Pelagians, who believed in the power of man's innate will to seek God, but at the same time accepted Augustine's concept of the universality of original sin as a corruptive force that cannot be overcome without God's grace. Before 428, Prosper moved to Marseille, where he lived as a monk. Reacting to the rise of Semi-Pelagianism, he wrote an appeal for help to Augustine, who replied with De praedestinatione sanctorum ("Concerning the Predestination of the Saints") and De dono perseverantiae ("Concerning the Gift of Perseverance"). In his writings he opposed Abbot John Cassian of Saint-Victor, as well as Vincent of Lérins. He wrote a reply to the general attack on Augustine, Ad objectiones Gallorum calumniantium ("To the Objections of the Gallic Calumniators"). After Augustine's death (430) in Hippo, Prosper went to Rome in 431 to enlist the aid of Pope Celestine I, who wrote a letter praising Augustine. Prosper then returned to France, but by 435 he was in Rome as secretary to Pope Leo I the Great. Before his death he composed a collection of Augustinian propositions called Liber sententiarum Sancti Augustini ("The Book of the Sentences of St. Augustine"), which was used in the decrees of the second Council of Orange in 529 refuting Semi-Pelagianism.

367- Protagoras

Protagoras was born around 485 BC at Abdera, Greece and he died around 410 BC. He is known as a thinker and teacher, the first and most famous of the Greek Sophists. Protagoras spent most of his life at Athens, where he influenced thought on moral and political questions. Protagoras taught as a Sophist for more than 40 years, claiming to teach men "virtue" in the conduct of their daily lives. He is best known for his dictum "Man is the measure of all things". He acquired great wealth and reputation from his teaching. Though he adopted conventional moral ideas, Protagoras expressed his agnostic attitude toward belief in the gods in Concerning the Gods. He was accused of impiety, his books were publicly burned, and he was exiled from Athens about 415 BC for the rest of his life.

368- Prudentius

Prudentius, Aurelius Clemens (circa 348-410) was a Latin poet, hymnographer and a lawyer in Spain. His poems include:

Apotheosis, on incarnation

Hamartigenia, against Marcion

Contra Symmachum, against paganism

Cathermerinon, hymns for daily use

Peri Stephanon, hymn on Spanish and Italian martyrs

369- Psyche

Psyche, in Roman mythology, was the beautiful princess loved by Cupid, the god of love. Jealous of Psyche's beauty, Venus, goddess of love, ordered her son, Cupid, to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest man in the world. Cupid instead fell in love with her and carried her off to a palace where he visited her only by night, unseen and unrecognised. Cupid had forbidden her to look at his face, one night Psyche looked upon him while he slept. As she had disobeyed him, Cupid abandoned her, and Psyche was left to wander throughout the world in search of him. After many trials she was reunited with Cupid and was made immortal by Jupiter, king of the gods.

370- Ptolemy

Ptolemy was active from AD 127 to AD 145 in Alexandria. He was an astronomer, geographer, and mathematician who considered the Earth the centre of the universe. As a result the geocentric system became dogmatically asserted in Western Christendom until the 15th century, when it was supplanted by the heliocentric (Sun-centred) system of Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish astronomer. In addition he was a Gnostic teacher, disciple of Valentinus and founder, with Heracleon, of the Italic school of Valentinus. Virtually nothing is known about his life. His main writing, the Almagest, is divided into 13 books, each of which deals with certain astronomical concepts pertaining to stars and to objects in the solar system. In essence, it is a synthesis of the results obtained by Greek astronomy. On the motions of the Sun, Moon, and planets, Ptolemy extended the observations and conclusions of Hipparchus. Ptolemy accepted the following order for celestial objects in the solar system: Earth (centre), Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. In the Ptolemaic system Sun, Moon, and planets moved around the circumference of their own epicycles.

371- Pyrrhon of Elis

Pyrrhon was born around 360 BC and he died about 272. Pyrrhon, also spelled Pyrrho, was a Greek philosopher from whom Pyrrhonism takes its name; he is considered to be the father of Scepticism. Pyrrhon was a pupil of Anaxarchus of Abdera and in about 330 established himself as a teacher at Elis. Believing that equal arguments can be offered on both sides of any proposition, he dismissed the search for truth as a vain endeavour. While travelling, Pyrrhon saw in the fakirs of India an example of happiness flowing from indifference to circumstances. He concluded that man must suspend judgment on the reliability of sense perceptions and live according to reality as it appears. Pyrrhon's teaching was preserved in the poems of Timon of Phlius, who studied with him.

372- Pythagoras

Pythagoras was born around 580 BC in Samos, Ionia, Greece and he died around 500 in Metapontum, Lucania. He was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the Pythagorean brotherhood (a religious organisation that formulated principles that influenced the thought of Plato and Aristotle and contributed to the development of mathematics and Western rational philosophy). Pythagoras was a Hierophant of the Mysteries of Demeter and Dionysus and a poet. Pythagoras went to southern Italy about 532 BC to escape Samos' tyrannical rule where he founded an ethico-political academy at Croton (now Crotona). None of his writings has survived. Pythagoras is generally credited with the theory of the functional significance of numbers in the objective world and in music. Other discoveries often attributed to him (for instance the Pythagorean theorem for right triangles) were probably developed only later by his disciples. The intellectual tradition originating with Pythagoras probably belongs to mystical wisdom and not to scientific scholarship.

373- Pythia

A big dragon or snake, Python, used to guard a cave and a chasm on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, site of the oracle of Delphi. Though killed by the god Apollo, Python remained closely linked with the famous shrine. The oracular priestess in charge of it became known by a form of the mythological serpent's name, Pythia.

374- Rufinus, Tyrannius

Rufinus was born around 345 AD at Concordia, near Aquileia, Italy and he died in 410 or 411 in Sicily, possibly at Messina. He was a Roman priest, writer, theologian, and translator of Greek theological works into Latin at a time when knowledge of Greek was declining in the West. After study at Rome, where he met Jerome, Rufinus entered a monastery at Aquileia. Jerome often visited the monastery, and the two became close friends. About 373 Rufinus began to study the writings of Origen, one of the Greek doctors of the church. In the early 390s Rufinus and Jerome became involved in a controversy over Origen's teachings, by this time suspected by orthodox theologians of injecting heretical elements into theology. In 393 both men were charged with Origenist leanings, but Rufinus refused to make formal abjuration, while Jerome did so. Rufinus was then subjected to abuse from Jerome. Rufinus' orthodoxy was questioned, and he was obliged to write an Apologia to Pope Anastasius. For the remainder of his life Rufinus devoted himself to literary pursuits, translating numerous biblical commentaries and homilies. His own writings include a commentary on the Apostles' Creed that included catechetical instruction and was the earliest continuous Latin text of the creed.

375- Ruth

Ruth was a Moabite woman who married the son of a Judaean couple living in Moab. After the death of her husband, Ruth moved to Judah with her mother-in-law, Naomi, instead of remaining with her own people. Ruth then became the wife of Boaz, a wealthy kinsman of her former husband, and bore Obed, who, according to the final verses of the book that was named after her, was the grandfather of David.

376- Sabellius

Sabellius was a Christian writer who did not hesitate to study and use the Pagan traditions. One of these traditions says that although the Pagans have many gods and goddesses, they are in fact only the particular faces of the Oneness, through whom initiates could relate to the Mystery. On this base, Sabellius compares the Holy Trinity -Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- to "personas". A "personas" was a mask worn by an actor in the ceremonial pageants of the Pagan Mysteries. Our word "personality" derives from "persona". In the same way that our personality or "persona" both masks and represents our ineffable essential nature, so the various images with which we picture the Divine are God's "personas", which mask and represent the Mystery.

377- Sallust (full name Gaius Sallustius Crispus)

Sallust was born around 86 BC at Amiternum, Samnium (now San Vittorino, near L'Aquila), Italy and he died in 35/34 BC. He was a Roman historian and he was known for his narrative writings dealing with political personalities, corruption, and party rivalry. Sallust's family probably belonged to the local aristocracy; he served in the Roman Senate although he was not born into the ruling class. Nothing is known of his early career. In 52 he was a tribune of the plebs; in this way he represented the lower classes but it was also one of the most powerful magistracies. In 50 Sallust was expelled from the Senate for alleged immorality and in 49 he sought refuge with Julius Caesar, and, when the civil war between Caesar and Pompey broke out in that year, he was placed in command of one of Caesar's legions. Two years later, designated praetor, he was sent to quell a mutiny among Caesar's troops, without success. In 46 he took part in Caesar's African campaign, and when Africa Nova was formed from Numidian territory (modern Algeria), Sallust became its first governor. He remained in office until 45 or early 44. Back in Rome, Sallust was accused of extortion and of plundering his province, but he was never brought to trial. Sallust's political career ended soon after his return to Rome. Sallust began to write before the Triumvirate was formed late in 43. His first monograph of 43/42 BC, Bellum Catilinae (Catiline's War), deals with corruption in Roman politics. Sallust describes the course of the conspiracy and the measures taken by the Senate and Cicero, who was then consul. In Sallust's second monograph, Bellum Jugurthinum of 41-40 BC (The Jugurthine War), he explored in greater detail the origins of party struggles that arose in Rome when war broke out against Jugurtha, the king of Numidia, who rebelled against Rome at the close of the 2nd century BC. The Histories describes the history of Rome from 78 to 67 B.C. Two "Letters to Caesar" and an "Invective Against Cicero," Sallustian in style, have often been credited, although probably incorrectly, to Sallust.

378- Sallustius

Sallustius was active around 360 AD. He was a Neoplatonic philosopher and an advisor to Emperor Julian in his attempt to revive Paganism.

379- Salome

According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Salome was the daughter of Herodias and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. In Biblical literature she is said to be responsible for the execution of John the Baptist. According to the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, Herod Antipas had imprisoned John the Baptist for condemning his marriage to Herodias, the divorced wife of his half brother Herod Philip. When Salome danced before Herod and his guests at a festival, he promised to give her whatever she asked. Herodias, her mother, infuriated by John's condemnation of her marriage, told her daughter to demand the head of John the Baptist on a platter, and Herod was forced by his oath to have John beheaded. Salome took the platter with John's head and gave it to her mother.

380- Salvian

Salvian (circa 400-480), also called "teacher of bishops", was a presbyter and writer. He was born in the Rhineland and wrote many books including the 8 volumes "On the Government of God" that attack the complacency of the church and the empire.

381- Samson

The Old Testament describes Samson as an Israelite hero, a Nazirite and a legendary warrior who did incredible exploits. Before his birth his parents learned through a theophany that he was to be dedicated to the life of a Nazirite, one set aside for God by a vow to abstain from strong drink, from shaving or cutting the hair, and from contact with a dead body. Samson possessed extraordinary physical strength but he lost it due to the violation of his Nazirite vow. He has been credited with remarkable exploits: the slaying of a lion, moving the gates of Gaza, his decimating the Philistines, defeating enemy assault on him at Gaza where he had gone to visit a harlot. He first broke his religious promises by feasting with a woman from the neighbouring town of Timnah, a Philistine, one of Israel's mortal enemies. He fell victim to his enemies due to his love of Delilah, to whom he revealed the secret of his strength: his long Nazirite hair. As he slept, Delilah cut his hair and betrayed him. He was captured, blinded, and enslaved by the Philistines, but in the end he was granted his revenge; through the return of his old strength, he demolished the great Philistine temple of the god Dagon, at Gaza, destroying his captors and himself.

382- Samuel

Samuel (11th century BC) was a religious hero in the history of Israel: seer, priest, judge, prophet, and military leader. His greatest role was in the establishment of the monarchy in Israel. Information about Samuel is contained in The First Book of Samuel (in the Roman Catholic canon, The First Book of Kings). The two books of Samuel do not indicate that he is their author or the hero. Samuel, the son of Elkanah (of Ephraim) and Hannah, was born in answer to the prayer of his previously childless mother. She dedicated him to the service of the chief sanctuary of Shiloh, under the priest Eli. As a boy Samuel received a divine oracle in which the fall of the house of Eli was predicted. When he became an adult, Samuel inspired Israel to a great victory over the Philistines at Ebenezer. The elders of Israel's idea to install a king was rejected by Samuel as infidelity to Yahweh. By the revelation of Yahweh, however, he anointed Saul king of all Israel. His leadership of Israel in a campaign against the Ammonites vindicated Saul as king; after this, Samuel retired from the leadership of Israel. He reappeared to announce the oracle of Yahweh rejecting Saul as king, once for arrogating to himself the right of sacrifice and a second time for failing to carry out the law of the ban against the Amalekites. Samuel secretly anointed David as king. He then faded into the background.

383- Sappho

Sappho was active from about 610 to 580 BC in Lesbos, Asia Minor. Sappho -also spelled PSAPPHO- was a lyric poet admired for the beauty of her writing. Her vocabulary, like her dialect, is for the most part vernacular, not literary. Sappho is said to have been married to Cercolas, a wealthy man from the island Andros. The tradition that she was banished and went to Sicily for a time is probably true; most of her life, however, was spent at Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Her themes are invariably personal, concerned with her friendships and enmities with other women, although her brother Charaxus was the subject of several poems. Sappho attracted a number of admirers, some from distant places. The principal themes of her poetry are the loves and jealousies and hates that flourished in her circle of wealthy friends. Sappho expresses her feelings for other women in words that go from gentle affection to passionate love. Ancient writers alleged that Sappho was a lesbian. Her poetry shows that she had emotions stronger than friendship toward other women, but nothing connects her with homosexual practices. In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, what remained of her work was collected and republished in Alexandria in nine books of lyrical verse and one of elegiac. Only one poem, 28 lines long, was complete. The next longest was 16 lines. Since 1898 these fragments have been greatly increased by papyrus finds, though no complete poem has been recovered and nothing equal in quality to the two longer pieces preserved in quotations.

384- Saturninus (or Saturnilus) of Antioch

Saturninus of Antioch was a Christian Gnostic, a follower of Simon Magus.

Lived at the time of Basilides.

385- Saul

Saul was the first king of Israel (c. 1021-1000 BC). The bible says that Saul was chosen king by the judge Samuel and by the public. Saul's chief contribution was to defend Israel against its many enemies, especially the Philistines. Saul was the son of Kish, a member of the tribe of Benjamin, and he was made king by the league of 12 Israelite tribes to strengthen Hebrew resistance to the Philistine threat. For two centuries, Israel was a loose confederation of tribes, dependent for their unity upon their religious faith and covenants that were renewed periodically. By Saul's day the tribes were no match for the superior iron weapons and chariots of the Philistines. Saul liberated the town of Jabesh-Gilead from oppression by the Ammonites, which brought him to the attention of all Israel and he was chosen as king. Samuel had some misgivings about the kingship however he anointed Saul as a concession to popular pressure. He warned of the loss of personal and tribal freedom that would follow and interpreted the action as a rejection of God.

386- Seneca the Younger

Seneca was born in 4 BC at Corduba, Spain and he died in 65 AD at Rome. Seneca the Younger was a Roman philosopher (follower of Pythagoras in his youth), statesman, orator, and tragedian. He was Rome's leading intellectual figure in the mid-1st century AD and was virtual ruler with his friends of the Roman world between 54 and 62 during the first phase of the emperor Nero's reign. He was the second son of a wealthy family. The father, Lucius Annaeus Seneca (Seneca the Elder), had been famous in Rome as a teacher of rhetoric. He went to Rome where he was trained as an orator and educated in philosophy in the school of the Sextii, which blended Stoicism with an ascetic neo-Pythagoreanism. Being in poor health he went to Egypt, where his aunt was the wife of the prefect, Gaius Galerius. Returning to Rome about the year 31, he began a career in politics and law but in 41 the emperor Claudius banished Seneca to Corsica on a charge of adultery with the princess Julia Livilla, the Emperor's niece. There he studied natural science and philosophy and wrote the three treatises entitled Consolationes. Agrippina, the Emperor's wife, had him recalled to Rome in 49. He became praetor in AD 50, married Pompeia Paulina, a wealthy woman, built up a powerful group of friends, including the new prefect of the guard, Sextus Afranius Burrus, and became tutor to the future emperor Nero. The murder of Claudius in 54 pushed Seneca and Burrus to the top. Seneca and Burrus introduced fiscal and judicial reforms and fostered a more humane attitude toward slaves. In 59 they had to condone the murder of Agrippina. When Burrus died in 62 Seneca knew that he could not go on, he retired, and in his remaining years he wrote some of his best philosophical works. In 65, Seneca's enemies denounced him as having been a party to the conspiracy of Piso. Ordered to commit suicide, he met death with fortitude and composure.

387- Serapion

Serapion (died 211) was bishop of Antioch; he opposed Montanism and wrote against conversion to Judaism.

388- Serapion of Thmuis (Saint)

Serapion of Thmuis (died after 360 AD) was a 4th century Christian prelate. First a monk, he became Bishop of Thmuis around 339. He was a friend and protege of Athanasius.

389- Serapis

Serapis (also Sarapis), in Greek and Egyptian mythology, was a deity associated with Osiris, Hermes, and Hades. Introduced in the 3rd century BC as a state god for both Greeks and Egyptians. The Egyptians believed that Serapis was a human manifestation of Apis, a sacred dead bull that symbolized Osiris while in Greek mythology, Serapis was represented as a god of fertility and medicine, and the ruler of the dead in Tartarus. The worship of Serapis spread throughout the ancient world and the Roman Empire. The cult waned with the ascendancy of Isis, the Egyptian goddess of motherhood and fertility.

390- Set

In Egyptian mythology Set (Seth, Sutekh) was the god of the forces of chaos and of the hostile desert lands. He is depicted as a donkey or monstrous typhon-headed man, and is also represented in the form of hippopotami, serpents, the desert oryx, pigs, crocodiles, and some types of birds. Set was violent from birth, tearing himself from his mother Nut. He was brother to Osiris, Isis, and Neith, the latter being also his consort. Set, jealous of Osiris' kingship of Egypt, killed him and cut the corpse into pieces. He then contended for the kingship with Horus, son of Osiris, and lost. For these deeds Set became the traditional enemy of ma'at (cosmic order) and is depicted in animal guise on temple walls being killed by the pharaoh in order to uphold everlasting order over chaos.

391- Severian of Gabala

Severian of Gabala died after 408. He was bishop of Gabala (now Latakia, Syria), a theologian, and orator. He was also the principal opponent of the 4th-century Greek Orthodox church father and patriarch of Constantinople, John Chrysostom. An accomplished speaker and writer, Severian left Gabala about 401 for the Byzantine imperial capital of Constantinople, where he established a reputation for his oratory. He became a protégé of Chrysostom and was entrusted with administrative responsibility in the Greek Orthodox church during Chrysostom's visitations to Asian Christian communities. He was accused by Serapion, archdeacon of Constantinople, of undermining Chrysostom's authority and later was induced by Chrysostom to return to his Syrian diocese. Recalled to Constantinople about 403 and received by Chrysostom, Severian delivered a formal address on peace in the ceremony of reconciliation. Severian served as prosecutor and judge of the patriarch at the Synod of the Oak, July 403. This provincial council convicted Chrysostom on apparently fabricated charges; he was exiled to the wild frontier of Asia Minor. The popular reaction in favour of Chrysostom forced Severian and his followers to flee Constantinople. The next year Severian arranged a second trial that succeeded in exiling the patriarch permanently (June 404) on counts of illegally resuming his patriarchal jurisdiction and of burning down his own church. Following Chrysostom's death in 407 Severian left Constantinople for Syria.

392- Severus of Antioch

Severus of Antioch was born circa 465 at Sozopolis, Pisidia, Asia Minor [near modern Konya, Turkey] and he died 538 at Xois, Egypt. He was a Greek monk-theologian, patriarch of Antioch, and a leader of the monophysites. Severus led this sect during the reigns of the Byzantine emperors Anastasius I (491-518) and Justinian I (527-565). His later ecclesiastical condemnation and exile hastened the sect's eventual decline. He studied theology in Alexandria and lived as a monk in Palestine before he was ordained priest by a monophysite bishop. As proponent of monophysitism -which viewed Christ as comprising a single, divine nature that subsumed his humanity by a personal union- Severus was called to Constantinople in 509 to answer heresy charges. There he became a confidant of the Byzantine emperor Anastasius, who nominated him to be patriarch of Antioch in 512. As a result, the monophysites came into control of Antioch. The emperor Justin I (518-527), enforced Christian orthodoxy throughout the empire and Severus was forced to flee to Egypt, under the protection of Timothy IV, the monophysite patriarch of Alexandria. Severus became the leader of the monophysite movement in Egypt (the Coptic church) and Syria (the Jacobites). At the beginning of Justinian I's reign, Severus regained his patriarchal office, but in 535 he again had to flee to Egypt, where he went into final retirement. Theologically, Severus was a moderate monophysite who rejected the orthodox formula of the Council of Chalcedon (451) but also rejected extreme monophysite assertions that Christ was exclusively divine.

393- Sextus

Sextus Empiricus was a 3rd century Greek philosopher and historian who produced the only existing account of Greek Scepticism in his Outlines of Pyrrhonism and Against the Dogmatists. As a major exponent of Pyrrhonistic "suspension of judgment," Sextus elaborated the 10 tropes of Aenesidemus and attacked syllogistic proofs in every area of speculative knowledge. Little is known of his life except that he was a medical doctor and headed a Sceptical school during the decline of Greek Scepticism. The republication of his Hypotyposes in 1562 had a big impact on European philosophical thought as most the philosophy of the 17th and 18th centuries can be interpreted in terms of the ancient Sceptical arguments that are parts of Sextus' work.

394- Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley, née Godwin, was born on August 30, 1797 at London, England and she died on February 1, 1851 at London. She was an English Romantic novelist best known as the author of Frankenstein. She was the only daughter of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. She met the young poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in the spring of 1814 and eloped with him to France in July of that year. The couple was married in 1816, after Shelley's first wife had committed suicide. Mary Shelley apparently came as near as any woman could to meeting Percy Shelley's requirements for his life's partner: "one who can feel poetry and understand philosophy." After her husband's death in 1822, she returned to England and devoted herself to publicizing Shelley's writings. She published her late husband's Posthumous Poems (1824), and she also edited his Poetical Works (1839) and his prose works. Her Journal is a rich source of Shelley biography, and her letters are an indispensable adjunct. Mary Shelley's best-known novel is Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818), in which she narrates the dreadful consequences that arise after a scientist has artificially created a human being. Mary Shelley also wrote Valperga (1823), The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck (1830), Lodore (1835), and Falkner (1837), and The Last Man (1826), an account of the future destruction of the human race by a plague. Her travel book History of a Six Weeks' Tour (1817) recounts the continental tour she and Shelley took in 1814 following their elopement and then recounts their summer near Geneva in 1816.

395- Shenoute

Shenoute (circa 360-450) was the abbot of the White Monastery in Upper Egypt for many years, a follower of the Rules of Pachomius. He attacked paganism and offered guidance to monks and laity.

396- Sibyl

Sibyl, also called SIBYLLA, was a prophetess in Greek legend and literature. She was described as a woman of old age giving predictions in ecstatic frenzy. She was a figure of the mythical past, and her prophecies were given in writing. In the 5th and early 4th centuries BC, she was assumed to be a single person living in Asia Minor. From the late 4th century Sibyl became the title of many women present in all the important oracle centres; they had individual names. A collection of sibylline prophecies, the Sibylline Books, was offered for sale to Tarquinius Superbus, the last of the seven kings of Rome, by the Cumaean sibyl. He refused to pay her price, so the sibyl burned six of the books before selling him the remaining three at the price requested for the nine. The books were then kept in the temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill, to be consulted in emergencies. A Judean or Babylonian sibyl was credited with writing the Judeo-Christian Sibylline Oracles. Some Christians considered the sibyl as a prophetic book equal to the Old Testament.

396bis- Silas (Saint)

Silas was a Christian prophet of Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament and an Elder of the Christian Jerusalem Church.

397- Silvanus

In the Roman religion, Silvanus was the god of the countryside, similar in character to Faunus, the god of animals, with whom he is often identified. He is often represented as a countryman. Initially he was the spirit of the woodland surrounding the settlements but as the forest was conquered, he became the god of woodland pastures, of boundaries, and of villas, parks, and gardens. He did not have a cult or temple, but only a simple worship ritual at a sacred grove or tree. In Latin literature he was identified with the Greek god Silenus, a minor woodland deity, or Pan, a god of forests, pastures, and shepherds.

398- Silvanus-Constantine

Constantine-Silvanus died around 684. He was also known as CONSTANTINE OF MANANALI (near Samasota, Syria), his probable birthplace, and he was the probable founder of the Middle Eastern sect of Paulicians, a group of Christian dualists. He took the additional name of Silvanus to honour a companion of St. Paul; later Paulician leaders followed this practise. As a teacher, he founded a Paulician community at Kibossa, near Colonia, Armenia, and directed it until his death. He died by stoning after his arrest by soldiers sent by the emperor Constantine IV (reigned 668-685) to suppress heresy. The leader of this force, Symeon-Titus, became a convert to Paulicianism and he also became a martyr (690). He taught that the New Testament should be the only written source of religious guidance. Constantine-Silvanus left no known writings.

399- Simeon ben Yohai

Simeon ben Yohai lived in the 2nd century AD. He was one of a select group of Palestinian rabbinic teachers, one of the most eminent disciples of the martyred Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph and, traditionally, author of the Zohar, the most important work of Jewish mysticism. Little is known of Simeon's life, and what is recorded of it in the Talmud is mixed with legend. Simeon opposed the Romans and was forced to conceal himself. According the legends, he and his son Eleazar hid in a cave for 13 years, subsisting on dates and the fruit of a carob tree. Later Simeon established an academy where his pupils included Judah ha-Nasi, the redactor of the Mishna, in which many of Simeon's aphorisms are recorded. The Sanhedrin sent Simeon to Rome as an emissary, where he succeeded in having a number of restrictions upon Jewish observances removed. Simeon advocated total devotion to the study of the Torah. It was probably because of his reputation as a miracle worker and ascetic that the Zohar came to be attributed to him whereas modern scholars ascribe the Zohar to Moses de León, a 13th-century mystic.

400- Simeon Stylites, Saint

Simeon Stylites - was called Simeon the Elder- was born circa 390 at Sisan, Cilicia [near modern Aleppo, Syria] and he died in 459 at Telanissus, Syria. He was a Syrian monk who was the first known stylite, or pillar hermit (from Greek stylos, "pillar"). A shepherd, Simeon entered a monastic community, but, because of his excessive austerities, he was expelled and became a hermit. His reputed miracle-working created popular veneration; about 420, to escape the importunities of the people, he began his pillar life northwest of Aleppo. His first column was 6 feet high, later increased to about 50 feet. He remained atop the column until his death, exposed to the elements, standing or sitting day and night in his restricted area, protected from falling by a railing, and provided with a ladder to communicate with those below or to receive gifts of food from disciples. Eventually his pillar became a pilgrimage site. Visitors sought spiritual counsel, relief from sickness, intervention for the oppressed, and enlightenment in prayer and doctrine. Simeon apparently converted many people, and he influenced the Eastern Roman emperor Leo I to support the orthodox Chalcedonian party during the 5th-century controversy over the nature of Christ.

401- Simon de Cyrene

According to the Gospels, Jesus Christ's Crucifixion began with his scourging, then the Roman soldiers then mocked him as the "King of the Jews" by clothing him in a purple robe and a crown of thorns and led him slowly to Mount Calvary, or Golgotha. Simon of Cyrene was allowed to aid him in carrying the cross. According to some Gnostic myths Simon died on the cross instead of Jesus.

402- Simon Magus

See Magus, Simon.

403- Socrates

Socrates was born around 470 BC and he died in 399 both in Athens, Greece. He was the first of the three great ancient Greek philosophers -Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle- who laid the philosophical foundations of Western culture. Plato described him as a barefoot sage who was teaching Phytagorean philosophy in Athens. Socrates "brought down philosophy from the nature speculation of the Ionian and Italian cosmologists to analyses of the character and conduct of human life. He lived during the Peloponnesian War, with its erosion of moral values and Socrates talked about the ethical dimensions of life. He was condemned to death by poisoning in 399 BC for heresy.

404- Socrates Scholasticus

Socrates Scholasticus (circa 380-450) was a Greek Church historian. He is the author of a seven books "Ecclesiastical History".

405- Sol

In Roman religion, Sol was the name of two distinct sun gods at Rome. The original Sol, or Sol Indiges, had a shrine on the Quirinal, an annual sacrifice on August 9, and another shrine, together with Luna, the moon goddess, in the Circus Maximus. The Roman equated him with the Greek sun god Helios. The worship of Sol changed with the importation of various sun cults from Syria. The Roman emperor Elagabalus (reigned AD 218-222) built a temple to him as Sol Invictus on the Palatine and attempted to make his worship the principal religion at Rome. The emperor Aurelian (reigned 270-275) later re-established the worship and erected a magnificent temple to Sol in the Campus Agrippae. The worship of Sol and its cult lasted until Christianity replaced it.

406- Solomon

Solomon lived in the 10th century BC; he was the son and successor of David and traditionally regarded as the greatest king of Israel. He maintained his dominions with military strength and established Israelite colonies outside his kingdom's borders. The crowning achievement of his vast building program was the famous temple at his capital, Jerusalem. Nearly all that is factually known of Solomon comes from the Bible. Solomon's father, David, was a self-made king, who founded the Judaean dynasty and carved out an empire from the border of Egypt to the Euphrates River. Solomon inherited a considerable empire, along with a Phoenician ally. Solomon's mother was Bathsheba, formerly the wife of David's Hittite general, Uriah. She proved to be adept at court intrigue. When David was old, one of his wives, Haggith, tried to have her son, Adonijah, appointed as David's successor. Adonijah enlisted the aid of powerful allies: David's senior general, Joab, Abiathar the priest, and several other court figures. It was only through the efforts of Bathsheba, together with the prophet Nathan, that Solomon, who was younger than several of his brothers, was anointed king while David was still alive.

407- Sopatros

Sopatros, a well-known pagan initiate, attended the foundation of Constantinople, which was predominantly a Christian city; its dedication was celebrated by Christian services.

408- Sophia

See "Sophia" in "Part I - Concepts". Sophia, the Gnostic Goddess of Wisdom, is also known by the following names: Psyche, Zoe (meaning "Life"), Achamoth (wisdom in Hebrew), Barbelo, …

409- Soter (Saint)

Soter was born at Fondi, Latium [Italy] and he died in 175 AD in Rome; he was pope from about 166 to about 175 succeeding St. Anicetus. Soter sent a letter and alms to the church of Corinth, whose bishop, St. Dionysius, replied in a letter that acknowledged Soter's affection and theological advice. Soter continued Pope Anicetus' attack against Montanism, a heresy based on prophecy and rigid moral norms.

410- Suetonius

Suetonius was born in 69 AD, probably in Rome [Italy] and he died after 122. He was a Roman biographer and antiquarian whose writings include De viris illustribus ("Concerning Illustrious Men"), a collection of short biographies of celebrated Roman literary figures, and De vita Caesarum (Lives of the Caesars). Suetonius' family was of the knightly class, or equites. He was a friend and protégé of Pliny the Younger, he seems to have studied and then abandoned the law as a career. After Pliny's death Suetonius found another patron, Septicius Clarus. Upon the accession of Emperor Hadrian (117), he entered the imperial service, holding the posts of controller of the Roman libraries, keeper of the archives, and adviser to the emperor on cultural matters. Probably around 121 he was promoted to secretary of the imperial correspondence, but in or after 122 he was dismissed and he devoted himself to literary pursuits.

411- Sulpicius Severus

Sulpicius Severus was born around 363 AD in Aquitania, Gaul and he died around 420. He was an early Christian ascetic, a chief authority for contemporary Gallo-Roman history, and a good writer. Trained as a lawyer, Sulpicius was baptized in about 390 with Paulinus (later bishop of Nola). After the early death of his wife, he devoted himself to a life as a literary recluse in Aquitania. Although the 5th-century biographer Gennadius refers to Sulpicius as a priest of suspect orthodoxy who was not in good relations with the Gaulish bishops, St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Jerome make friendly references to him. Sulpicius' most famous work is the Vita S. Martini. In 400 he wrote Chronica, 2 vol., (c. 402-404), sacred histories from the Creation to his own time but omitting the Gospels that includes the tragic history of the Priscillianists, followers of an unorthodox Trinitarian doctrine teaching that the Son differs from the Father only in name.

412- Symeon of Mesopotamia

Symeon of Mesopotamia (4th century) was the main theologian of the Messalian ascetics His austere sect started in Mesopotamia and spread to Syrian and Asia Minor. He advocated the rejection of all worldly pursuits including work.

413- Symmachus

Quintus Aurelius Symmachus was born in 345 AD and he died in 402. He was a Roman statesman, a brilliant orator, a writer, and an opponent to Christianity. Symmachus was the born in a family of great distinction and wealth. He had a brilliant career including the pro-consulship of Africa in 373, the city prefecture at Rome in 384, and the consulship for 391. When the emperor Gratian (367-383), influenced by the Christian bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose, ordered the statue of Victory to be removed from the Senate house at Rome in 382, Symmachus, a pagan, went to Milan to plead in vain, with the Emperor to cancel this anti-pagan measure. After Gratian's murder in 383, Symmachus asked Valentinian II (375-392) to revoke Gratian's anti-pagan orders but again without success. Valentinian's court was pro-Christian and Symmachus lost much of his influence; when Magnus Maximus drove Valentinian from Italy in 387, Symmachus, the leader of the Senate, offered the new emperor the Senate's congratulations. When Theodosius I reconquered Italy for Valentinian in 388, Symmachus was forgiven and appointed consul for 391. Under the pagan rule of Eugenius and Arbogast in 392-394 he regained some of his influence and survived under Honorius until 402. Symmachus' extant works are the 10 books of his Letters.

414- Synesius of Cyrene

Synesius (circa 370-413) was a Christian prelate, a neo-platonist philosopher who studied philosophy under Hypatia, and a great figure among the fathers of the church. He was a country gentleman of the province of Cyrene in western Egypt. If baptised he was only a nominal churchman. He was a friend of the Pagan and Christian leaders in Alexandria, the patriarch Theophilus and the philosopher Hypatia. He represented his people at the court of Constantinople and in 410 the people of Ptolemais elected him to the episcopate (bishop) to be a civic as well as a religious leader. He accepted with some reservation, mainly that he would remain a neoplatonist and he would remain married. As a bishop he came closer to Christianity. Several of his letters to Hypatia still exist.

415- Tacitus

Tacitus was born in 56 AD and he died around 120. He was a Roman orator and a public official as well as probably the greatest historian and one of the greatest prose stylists who wrote in Latin. Among his works are the Germania, describing the Germanic tribes, the Historiae (Histories), concerning the Roman Empire from Ad 69 to 96, and the later Annals, dealing with the empire in the period from AD 14 to 68. He grew up in comfortable circumstances and enjoyed a good education. Tacitus studied rhetoric and his training was a systematic preparation for administrative office and the practice of law before working as a "virgintivirate" (one of 20 appointments to minor magistracies) and a military tribunate. In 77 Tacitus married the daughter of Gnaeus Julius Agricola who had risen in the imperial service to the consulship. Moving through the regular stages, he gained the quaestorship (a responsible provincial post), probably in 81; then in 88 he attained a praetorship (a post with legal jurisdiction) and became a member of the priestly college that kept the Sibylline Books of prophecy and supervised foreign-cult practice.

416- Tammuz

Tammuz was a Babylonian god whose cult is one of the oldest in the world, and still survives in Kurdiatan. It spread to Palestine after 700 BC. He is the god of vegetation who died during the hot summer months to come back to life in the spring. He was the young lover of Ishtar who descended in the underworld to bring back Tammuz to life.

417- Tatian

Tatian was born in AD 120 in Syria and he died in April 173. Tatian became a pupil of Justin Martyr and converted to Christianity. He rejected the classical literary and moral values of the Greeks as corrupt and repudiated their intellectualism, preferring instead the "barbaric" Christian culture. After Justin's martyrdom Tatian broke with the Roman church, returned to Syria about 172, and became associated with the religious community of the Encratites, a heretical sect integrating a severe asceticism with elements of Stoic philosophy. During this period Tatian produced the two works that still survive. The Diatessaron (Greek: "From Four," or "Out of Four") is a version of the four Gospels arranged in a single continuous narrative that, in its Syriac form, served the biblical-theological vocabulary of the Syrian church for centuries. Its Greek and Latin versions influenced the Gospel text. The discourse to the Greek was a virulent polemic against Hellenistic learning, presented a Christian cosmology and demonology in which Tatian negatively compared Greek polytheistic theology with the Christian concept of a unique deity whose sublimity transcended the foibles of Greek idols. Tatian's other writings, listed by the 4th-century historian Eusebius of Caesarea, have been lost.

418- Tertullian

Tertullian (about 160-220) was the first important Christian writer in Latin. Tertullian was born Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus in Carthage, the son of a Roman centurion. He trained for a career in law and practised his profession in Rome. Sometime between 190 and 195, while still in Rome, he became a convert to the Christian faith, and he visited Greece and possibly Asia Minor. In 197 he returned to Carthage, where he married and became a presbyter of the church. About 207 he aligned himself with Montanism, a Gnostic sect that encouraged prophesying and espoused a rigorous form of asceticism. A zealous champion of Christianity, Tertullian wrote many theological treatises, of which 31 have survived. In his various works he defends Christianity, refutes heresy, or argues some practical point of morality or church discipline. His views on ethics and discipline became progressively harsher in his later works. After espousing Montanist doctrines, he was a severe critic of orthodox Christians, whom he accused of moral laxity. Many of his works are accepted as orthodox by the Roman Catholic Church and are included in the recognised body of patristic literature. Tertullian profoundly influenced the later church fathers. Tertullian's writings demonstrate a profound knowledge of Greek and Latin literature, both pagan and Christian. He was the first writer in Latin to formulate Christian theological concepts, such as the nature of the Trinity. Having no models to follow, he developed a terminology derived from many sources, chiefly Greek and the legal vocabulary of Rome.

His main writings are:

Apologeticus (197?) is a defence of Christians against pagan charges of immorality, economic worthlessness, and political subversion.

His most important work refuting heresy is "De Praescriptione Hereticorum" (On the Claims of Heretics), in which he argued that the church alone has the authority to declare what is and what is not orthodox Christianity.

In other writings he strongly disapproved of second marriages, exhorted Christians not to attend public shows, and favoured simplicity of dress and strict fasts. Like all Montanists, Tertullian held that Christians should welcome persecution, not flee from it.

Christian historians value above all De Baptismo (On Baptism) and De Oratione (On Prayer), for the light they throw on contemporary religious practices.

419- Thaddaeus, Saint

Thaddaeus, or Judas, the son of James was one of the twelve Apostles.

420- Thales

Thales (circa 625-546 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Miletus, Asia Minor. He was the founder of Greek philosophy, and was considered one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece. He was an astronomer who predicted the eclipse of the sun that occurred on May 28, 585 BC. He is also said to have introduced geometry in Greece. According to Thales, the original principle of all things is water, from which everything proceeds and into which everything is again resolved.

421- Thaumaturgus Gregory

Thaumaturgus Gregory was born about 213 AD in Neocaesarea, Pontus Polemoniacus [now Niksar, Turkey] and he died about 270 in Neocaesarea. He was a Greek Christian and a defender of orthodoxy in the 3rd-century Trinitarian (nature of God) controversy. Gregory was introduced to Christianity while studying under Origen, the leading Christian intellectual of his time, at Caesarea (near modern Haifa, Israel). On his return to Neocaesarea, Gregory was made a bishop and committed his life to Christianising that largely pagan region. The Roman emperor Decius' persecution (250-251) compelled Gregory and his community to withdraw into the mountains. Later he proposed liturgical celebrations honouring the Decian martyrs. His work was of a more practical, pastoral nature than of a speculative theologian. His Canonical Epistle (c. 256) contains valuable data on Eastern Church discipline in the 3rd-century, resolving moral questions incident to the Gothic invasion of Pontus. With his brother, a fellow bishop, Gregory assisted at the first Synod of Antioch (c. 264), which rejected the heresy of Paul of Samosata. His Exposition of Faith was a theological apology for Trinitarian belief. The Exposition incorporated his doctrinal instructions to Christian initiates, expressed his arguments against heretical groups, and was the forerunner of the Nicene Creed that was to appear in the early 4th century. A letter "To Theopompus, on the Passible and Impassible in God," deals with the Hellenistic theory of God's incapacity for feeling and suffering, and Panegyric to Origen, a florid eulogy, constitute the remainder of Gregory's significant writings.

422- Thecla

According to Syrian oral tradition Thecla was a woman born in Iconium who, at the age of 18, accompanied Paul in his journeys baptising and preaching.

422bis- Teodore

Theodore, Head of Pachomian Monastery at Tabinnisi near Nag Hammadi, 4th century AD.

423- Theodore of Mopsuestia

Theodore (about 350-428) was a Christian theologian, born in Antioch. He was made Bishop of Mopsuestia in Cilicia in 392. He wrote commentaries on almost all the books of Scripture; the fifth ecumenical council condemned his views on the Incarnation in 553. As the teacher of Nestorius, he was probably one of the founders of Nestorianism, a Gnostic heresy.

424- Theodotus of Ancyra

Theodotus of Ancyra died circa 446. He was a theologian, bishop of Ancyra, and an advocate of orthodoxy in the discussion of the nature and Person of Christ at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Theodotus was an opponent of Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople, and whom Theodotus had earlier supported. With Cyril of Alexandria, Nestorius' chief opponent, Theodotus affirmed the two-fold nature united in Christ's Person. Nestorius was condemned, and Theodotus was a member of the delegation sent by the council to explain its decrees to the Nestorian-leaning emperor Theodosius II. The Nestorian party denounced Theodotus in 432 at its own Synod of Tarsus. Theodotus' writings include an explanation of the Nicene Creed in which he asserted that the first Council of Nicaea had already condemned Nestorius' views in 325. Two sermons on Christmas and one on the "Feast of the Lights" (in honour of the Virgin Mary) are significant witnesses to the existence of these ritual celebrations in the early 5th century.

425- Theodotus the Gnostic

In the second century AD, Theodotus founded Eastern Gnosticism, a system of religious dualism with a doctrine of salvation by gnosis, or esoteric knowledge. He taught Gnosticism in Asia Minor about 160-170, basing his teaching on the concepts elaborated by Valentinus. Theodotus' teachings survive in Excerpta ex Theodoto ("Extracts from Theodotus"), actually a scrapbook that the 2nd-3rd-century Christian philosophical theologian Clement of Alexandria appended to his Stromata ("Miscellanies"). Essentially, the Gnosticism of Theodotus affirmed that the world is the product of a process of emanations, or radiations, from an ultimate principle of unconditioned being or eternal ideas. Intermediate beings in this hierarchy of perfection include God the creator of matter and Christ the redeemer, who united himself to the man Jesus at his baptism to bring men gnosis. Salvation, he concluded, is reserved for Gnostic believers infused with pneuma ("spirit"). Theodotus described the role of the inferior spiritual beings, or angels, and their relation to Christ. He mentions a Eucharist of bread and water and anointing as a means for release from the domination of the evil power.

426- Theodotus of Byzantium or Theodotus the Tanner

Theodorus of Byzantium (also Theodotus the Tanner) lived in the 2nd century AD; he was an Adoptionist Monarchian. He was a wealthy and cultured tanner of Byzantium who went to Rome circa 189 during the reign of Pope Victor I. He soon developed a following with his Dynamic Monarchianism for teaching that Jesus became the Christ at his baptism. Some theodotians denied Christ divinity while others said that he became divine at his resurrection. Condemned and excommunicated by Pope Victor in 190, Theodotus nevertheless continued to acquire disciples, forming the Theodotians, a sect that lasted into the 3rd century under another Theodotus, the Money-changer.

427- Theognotus

Theognotus (died about 282 AD) is said to have been the head of the school at Alexandria (248-282) as successor to Dionysius. He is the author of "Outlines" based on the doctrines of Origen.

428- Theophilus of Alexandria, Saint

Theophilus of Alexandria lived during the 5th century. He was a theologian and patriarch of Alexandria, an opponent of non-Christian religions, a severe critic of heterodox influence among Christian writers and monks, and a major figure in the ecclesiastical politics of the Greek Orthodox Church of his day. A gifted student at Alexandria, Theophilus, now a priest, was chosen patriarch in 385. He destroyed the non-Christian religious shrines of North Africa including the renowned temples to the gods Mithra, Dionysius, and Sarapis cancelling all these pagan shrines; he also destroyed the Sarapeum with its irreplaceable collection of classical literature. He used the stone from the temples to construct new Christian churches. At first an adherent of the 3rd-century Christian Platonist Origen, Theophilus was challenged in 399 by some Egyptian monks on his approval of Origen's concept of an absolutely immaterial God. Agreeing with certain of the monks' notions, he changed opinion two years later and denounced Origen's writings. In his consequent persecution of Origenist monks, he personally commanded troops sent to destroy their desert monasteries. In Constantinople to explain his actions, Theophilus denounced the orthodoxy of John Chrysostom, the leading theologian, by implicating him in controverted points of Origenism. Chrysostom was condemned and exiled at the Synod of the Oak in 403. Although Theophilus is charged with ruthlessness by some of his contemporaries, others describe him as a sincere promoter of monasticism. He is honoured as a saint in the Egyptian Coptic and Syrian Churches.

429- Theophilus of Antioch

Theophilus of Antioch (2d century) was Bishop of Antioch during the reign of Commodus (180-192). Theophilus is described as a literalist Christian philosopher. In fact he was not a literalist at all but he taught a philosophical Christianity based on the mythical figures of the Logos and Sophia. He was not interested in Jesus and never mentions him. The literalists adopted him because there were no Christian philosophers at that time. His theology is based mainly on the Old Testament although he recognises the importance of some New Testament writings.

In the first of three books he defended the Christians against accusation of godlessness and attacked Pagan deities; the second criticises Greek authors and justify the Old Testament and its accuracy; the third attacks again the Greek authors and praises the laws of the Old Testament. His books give evidence of the influence of Jewish writers on Christian thought at Antioch in his time.

430- Theudas

Theudas was a Gnostic teacher. He taught Valentinus philosophy at Alexandria as well as the secret knowledge of Christianity that, he said, he had previously personally received directly from Saint Paul of whom, according to the legend, Theudas was a pupil. He was baptized a Christian.

Theudas, according to St. Luke, was also the name of the leader of an unsuccessful revolt of 400 men against the Romans in about 46-48 AD. He was decapitated and all his men killed.

In addition, Josephus mentions a prophet by this name.

431- Thomas, Saint

Thomas was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. According to John Thomas was devoted to Jesus: When Jesus sets out for Judea, where Jews have threatened to stone him, Thomas suggests, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." At the Last Supper, during which Jesus says, "And you know the way where I am going." Thomas asks, "… how can we know the way?" Jesus responds, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." Thomas is absent when Jesus first appears to the apostles after the Resurrection and he doubts their account of the event. When Jesus appears again and invites Thomas to touch his wounds, the apostle exclaims, "My Lord and my God!" Thomas was the first to explicitly recognize Christ's divinity. From this he is known as "doubting Thomas".

432- Thoth

In Egyptian religion was the god of the moon, of reckoning, of learning, of writing, the inventor of writing, the creator of languages, the scribe, interpreter, the adviser of the gods, and the representative of the sun god, Re. The cult of Thoth was centred in the town of Hermopolis in Upper Egypt. In the myth of Osiris, Thoth protected Isis during her pregnancy and healed the eye of her son Horus, which had been wounded by Osiris' adversary Seth. He weighed the hearts of the deceased at their judgment and reported the result to the presiding god, Osiris, and his fellow judges. Thoth's sacred animals were the ibis and the baboon. Thoth was usually represented in human form with an ibis's head. The Greeks identified Thoth with their god Hermes and termed him "Thoth, the thrice great" (after Hermes Trismegistos).

433- Timothy

Timothy was a Literalist Christian writer who did not like the Christian Gnostics. Timothy was born in Lystra, Lycaonia [now Lusna, Turkey] and he died in AD 97 at Ephesus [now in Turkey]. He was a disciple of St. Paul the Apostle, whom he accompanied on his missions. On his second visit to Lystra in 50, Paul discovered Timothy, taking him as a colleague. Timothy worked with Paul and Silas and helped found churches in Corinth, Thessalonica, and Philippi. He accompanied Paul to Ephesus and Asia Minor. In the Pastoral Epistles he is solely in charge of the Christians at Ephesus, possibly the site of his release from prison. Tradition made him first bishop of Ephesus, where he was allegedly martyred under the Roman emperor Nerva. One legend asserts that he was clubbed to death by a mob for protesting against the orgiastic worship of the goddess Artemis.

434- Titus, Saint

Titus lived in 1st century AD and he died in Crete. He was a disciple and secretary of St. Paul the Apostle. According to tradition he was the first bishop of Crete. Known from New Testament, in Acts of the Apostles, and the Pauline Letters, Titus was a Gentile convert whom Paul, in contrast to his expediency in Timothy's case, refused to allow to be circumcised at Jerusalem as requested by the Jewish-Christians. He also appears in connection with the Corinthian Church. Titus was specially entrusted with organizing the alms collection for poor Christians of Judaea and he acted as a commissioner of Paul at Corinth, where he replaced Timothy. In 1966 his head was returned from Venice, where it had been venerated at St. Mark's since the 9th century, to the Church of St. Titus in Iráklion (Herakleion) in Crete.

435- Titus of Bostra

Titus of Bostra (4th century AD) was Bishop of Bostra but Emperor Julian the Apostate expelled him in 362 to create division among the Christians of that city but it did not work. In 363 he participated to a Synod in Antioch again as Bishop of Bostra. This Synod ratified the Nicene Creed. He wrote a treaty against the Manichaeans.

436- Tyconius

Tyconius (died about 400 AD) was a Donatist theologian who met difficulties after 370 because of his writings. He was excommunicated by a Donatist synod at Carthage in 378 as a proponent of Catholic views on church and sacraments. He refused to join the Catholic Church.

437- Ulfilas

Ulfilas -in Gothic Wulfila- was born circa 311 and he died circa 382 in Constantinople [now Istanbul, Turkey]. He was a Christian bishop and missionary, who evangelised the Goths, reputedly created the Gothic alphabet, and wrote the earliest translation of the Bible into a Germanic language. Ulfilas is believed to have descended from 3rd-century Cappadocians captured by the Goths. At the age of 30 he was supposedly sent on an embassy to the Roman emperor and was consecrated (341) bishop of the Gothic Christians by Eusebius of Nicomedia, bishop of Constantinople, an Arian (a follower of the heretical doctrine that the Son was neither equal with God the Father nor eternal). Because of persecution by the Gothic ruler, Ulfilas, after working for seven years among the Goths north of the Danube, led his congregation to Moesia (now part of Bulgaria) with the consent of the Arian Roman emperor Constantius II. By the time of his consecration, Ulfilas had accepted the homoean formula (the Trinitarian doctrine affirming that the Son was "like" the Father) promulgated by the Council of Constantinople in 360, which he attended. He then taught the similarity of the Son to the Father and the complete subordination of the Holy Spirit, an Arian form of Christianity that he carried to the Visigoths. When in 379 a champion of Nicene orthodoxy, Theodosius I the Great, became Roman emperor, Ulfilas apparently led a party of compromise and conciliation with the homoean position. After the Council of Aquileia (381), Theodosius summoned Ulfilas to Constantinople for discussions, during which he died. Before 381 he translated parts of the Bible from Greek to Gothic. He reportedly wrote many sermons and interpretations in Gothic, Greek, and Latin, and some extant Arian writings have been ascribed to him. The national Gothic church that Ulfilas helped to create was Arian from the start. The Goths' adherence to Arianism caused a breach between them and the Roman Empire that made Arianism part of the national self-consciousness of the Visigoths and of other Germanic peoples, including Ostrogoths, Vandals, and Burgundians.

438- Valentinus

Valentinus (100-180 AD) was a religious philosopher, a Gnostic poet, and the founder of one of the most important sects of Gnosticism.

Valentinus was born in Egypt and educated in Alexandria. He settled in Rome during the reign (136-40) of Pope Hyginus, founded a school, and taught there for more than 20 years, gaining a reputation for eloquence and forceful intelligence and attracting a large following. According to the theologian Tertullian, Valentinus broke with the Christian church and left Rome after being passed over for the office of bishop. He continued to develop his doctrines, possibly in Cyprus. His followers elaborated his teachings and evolved into two schools, one centred in Italy, the other in Alexandria. The primary sources for Valentinus's doctrines are fragmentary quotations contained in the works of his orthodox Christian opponents and a Coptic text, the Gospel of Truth, found at Nag Hammadi in Egypt and believed to be a translation of an original work by Valentinus. His system reflects the influence of Platonism and of Eastern dualistic religion as well as of Christianity. He postulated a spiritual realm (pleroma) consisting of a succession of aeons (Greek, "emanations") that evolved out of an original divine being. The aeon Sophia (Greek, "wisdom") produced a demiurge (identified with the God of the Old Testament) who created the essentially evil material universe in which human souls, originally of the spiritual realm, are imprisoned. The aeon Christ united himself with the man Jesus to bring redeeming knowledge (gnosis) of the divine realm to humanity. Only the most spiritual human beings, the Gnostics themselves, are fully able to receive this revelation and thereby return after death to the spiritual realm. Other Christians can only attain the realm of the demiurge, and pagans, engrossed in material existence, are doomed to eternal damnation.

439- Virgil

Virgil was born on October 15, 70 BC at Andes, near Mantua (Italy) and he died on September 21, 19 BC at Brundisium. In Latin his full name was PUBLIUS VERGILIUS MARO. He was an important Roman poet, best known for his national epic, the Aeneid unfinished at his death. The Aeneid tells the story of Rome's legendary founder and proclaims the Roman mission to civilize the world under divine guidance. Virgil was born in a peasant family and his love of the Italian countryside and of the people who cultivated it colours all his poetry. He was educated at Cremona, at Milan, and finally at Rome, learning poetry, and trained in rhetoric and philosophy. His first teacher was the Epicurean Siro, and the Epicurean philosophy is reflected in his early poetry but gave way to Stoicism.

440- Voltaire

Voltaire was born on November 21, 1694 at Paris, France and he died May 30, 1778 also at Paris. He was one of the greatest of all French writers and he continues to be held in worldwide repute as a courageous crusader against tyranny, bigotry, and cruelty. His writing shows critical capacity, wit, and satire. His whole work supports the ideal of progress. His long life covered the last years of classicism and the eve of the revolutionary era, and during this age of transition his works and activities influenced the direction taken by European civilization. Like other thinkers of his day -writers and scientists- he believed in the efficacy of reason. Voltaire was a "Philosophe", as the 18th century termed it. He professed an aggressive Deism, which scandalized the devout. He became interested in England, the country that tolerated freedom of thought. He became acquainted with Viscount Bolingbroke who was exiled in France because of his opinions as politician, orator, and philosopher. Voltaire admired him and compared him to Cicero. On Bolingbroke's advice he learned English in order to read the philosophical works of John Locke.

He wrote many books including:

Stories: Les Voyages du baron de Gangan (1739; Zadig (1747); Vision de Babouc (1748); Candide); Le Blanc et le noir (1764; The Two Genies, 1895); Jeannot et Colin (1764); La Princesse de Babylone (1768); Le Taureau blanc (1774).

History: Histoire de Charles XII (1731); Le Siècle de Louis XIV (1751); Histoire de l'Empire de Russie sous Pierre le Grand (1759-63); Précis du siècle de Louis XV (1768).

441- Xenophanes

Xenophanes was born around 560 BC at Colophon, Ionia and he died in 478. He was a Greek poet, a religious thinker, and a precursor of the Eleatic school of philosophy, which stressed unity rather than diversity and viewed the separate existences of material things as apparent rather than real. The Persians exiled Xenophanes from Greece in about 546 and he went to Sicily and in the Mediterranean. He settled at Elea in southern Italy. He ridicules the doctrine of the transmigration of souls, condemns the luxuries introduced from the nearby colony of Lydia into Colophon, and advocates wisdom and the reasonable enjoyment of social pleasure in the face of prevalent excess. The tradition that Xenophanes founded the school is based primarily on the testimony of Aristotle and Plato. "The Eleatic school, beginning with Xenophanes and even earlier, starts from the principle of the unity of all things," that is summarised in his statement "The all is one and the one is God." Xenophanes was less a philosopher of nature than a poet and religious reformer who applied generally philosophical and scientific notions to popular conceptions.

442- Yahweh

Yahweh is the God of the Israelites, his name had been revealed to Moses as four Hebrew consonants (YHWH) called the TETRAGRAMMATON. After the exile (6th century BC), and especially from the 3rd century BC on, Jews ceased to use the name Yahweh. As Judaism became a universal religion in the Greco-Roman world, the word Elohim, meaning "god," replaced Yahweh to make it more acceptable outside Palestine. At the same time, the divine name was increasingly regarded as too sacred to be uttered; it was thus replaced vocally in the synagogue ritual by the Hebrew word Adonai ("My Lord"), which was translated as Kyrios ("Lord") in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament. The Masoretes replaced the vowels of the name YHWH with the vowel signs of the Hebrew words Adonai or Elohim. Thus, the artificial name Jehovah (YeHoWaH) came into being. The meaning of the personal name of the Israelite God has been variously interpreted.

443- Yeats

William Butler Yeats was born on June 13, 1865 at Sandymount, Dublin, Ireland and he died on Jan. 28, 1939 at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. He was an Irish poet, dramatist, and prose writer, one of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. Yeats wanted to cultivate the tradition of a hidden Ireland that existed largely in the anthropological evidence of its surviving customs, beliefs, and holy places, more pagan than Christian. His first publication, two brief lyrics, appeared in the Dublin University Review in 1885. He joined the Theosophical Society in London, whose mysticism appealed to him. The age of science was repellent to Yeats; he was a visionary, and he insisted upon surrounding himself with poetic images. He began a study of the prophetic books of William Blake, and this enterprise brought him into contact with other visionary traditions, such as the Platonic, the Neoplatonic, the Swedenborgian, and the alchemical. His early poems, collected in The Wanderings of Oisin, and Other Poems (1889), are the work of an aesthete. In 1889 Yeats met Maud Gonne, an Irish beauty, ardent and brilliant. He fell in love with her, but his love was hopeless. Maud Gonne liked and admired him, but she was not in love with him. Her passion was lavished upon Ireland; she was an Irish patriot, a rebel, and a rhetorician, commanding in voice and in person. When Yeats joined in the Irish nationalist cause, he did so partly from conviction, but mostly for love of Maud. The Celtic Twilight (1893), a volume of essays, was Yeats's first effort toward this end, but progress was slow until 1898, when he met Augusta Lady Gregory. Among his own plays that became part of the Abbey Theatre's repertoire are The Land of Heart's Desire (1894), Cathleen ni Houlihan (1902), The Hour Glass (1903), The King's Threshold (1904), On Baile's Strand (1905), and Deirdre (1907). Yeats published several volumes of poetry during this period, notably Poems (1895) and The Wind Among the Reeds (1899. But in the collections In the Seven Woods (1903) and The Green Helmet (1910), Yeats slowly discarded the Pre-Raphaelite colours and rhythms of his early verse and purged it of certain Celtic and esoteric influences. In 1917 Yeats published The Wild Swans at Coole. The Tower (1928), named after the castle he owned and had restored, is the work of a fully accomplished artist. Some of Yeats's greatest verse was written subsequently, appearing in The Winding Stair (1929). The poems in both of these works use, as their dominant subjects and symbols, the Easter Rising and the Irish civil war; Yeats' own tower; the Byzantine Empire and its mosaics; Plato, Plotinus, and Porphyry; and the author's interest in the philosophy of G.E. Moore and in contemporary psychical research. Yeats explained his own philosophy in the prose work A Vision (1925, revised version 1937. In 1913 Yeats spent some months at Stone Cottage, Sussex, with the American poet Ezra Pound acting as his secretary. Yeats devised what he considered an equivalent of the no drama in such plays as Four Plays for Dancers (1921), At the Hawk's Well (first performed 1916), and several others. In 1917 Yeats asked Iseult Gonne, Maud Gonne's daughter, to marry him. She refused. Some weeks later he proposed to Miss George Hyde-Lees and was accepted; they were married in 1917. In 1922, on the foundation of the Irish Free State, Yeats accepted an invitation to become a member of the new Irish Senate: he served for six years. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In 1936 his Oxford Book of Modern Verse, 1892-1935, a gathering of the poems he loved, was published. Still working on his last plays, he completed The Herne's Egg, his most raucous work, in 1938. Yeats's last two verse collections, New Poems and Last Poems and Two Plays, appeared in 1938 and 1939 respectively. Yeats died in January 1939 while abroad and he was buried at Roquebrune, France. In 1948 his body was finally taken back to Sligo and buried.

444- Zacharias Rhetor

Zacharias Rhetor (circa 470-540) was a monophysite writer, first a student in Alexandria, and then a member of an ascetic brotherhood. He became a lawyer in Constantinople. He was the author of books on the life of Severus of Antioch and of the monophysite leaders as well as a chronicle.

445- Zadok

Zadok is the name of the founder of an important branch of the Jerusalem priesthood. He was a descendant of Eleazar, the son of Aaron. He lived during the reigns of David and Solomon as High Priest. During the struggle for the succession of David's throne, Adonijah, David's eldest living son, was supported by the "old guard" (the general Joab and the priest Abiathar) while Solomon, the son of David and Bathsh was supported by the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and the captain of David's bodyguard, Benaiah. Following the advice of Nathan, David appointed Solomon the heir to his throne; and Zadok and Nathan anointed the son of Bathsheba king in Gihon.

446- Zechariah

Zechariah was a Jewish minor prophet. Zechariah was active from 520 to 518 BC. A contemporary of the prophet Haggai in the early years of the Persian period, Zechariah shared Haggai's concern that the Temple of Jerusalem be rebuilt. Unlike Haggai Zechariah thought that the rebuilding of the Temple was the necessary prelude to the eschatological age, the arrival of which was imminent.

447- Zeno of Citium

Zeno of Citium (350-260 BC) was a Greek philosopher, founder of Stoicism. He was born in Citium, Cyprus. Little is known of his early life. He was a student of the 4th century BC Cynic philosopher Crates of Thebes and of the Platonist Xenocrates. About 300 BC, Zeno founded his own school of philosophy, known as Stoicism. Moral obligation, self-control, and living in harmony with nature were some of the principles of practical ethics with which Zeno was concerned. He taught in Athens for more than 50 years.

448- Zephaniah

Zephaniah, or Sophonias, was one of the Israelite minor prophets and the author of the 9th Old Testament prophetical books, who proclaimed the approaching divine judgment. He lived in the 7th century BC.

449- Zeus

In ancient Greek religion Zeus was a chief deity of the pantheon, a sky and weather god who was identical with the Roman god Jupiter. Zeus was regarded as the sender of thunder and lightning, rain, and winds, and his traditional weapon was the thunderbolt. He was called the father that is the ruler and protector of both gods and men. A Greek myth tells us that Cronus, king of the Titans, upon learning that one of his children would dethrone him, swallowed his children as soon as they were born. But Rhea, his wife, saved Zeus by replacing him by a stone for Cronus to swallow and hid Zeus in a cave on Crete. There he was nursed by the nymph (or female goat) Amalthaea and guarded by the Curetes (young warriors). As a man Zeus led a revolt against the Titans and succeeded in dethroning Cronus, with the assistance of his brothers Hades and Poseidon. As ruler of heaven Zeus led the gods to victory against the Giants (offspring of Gaea and Tartarus) and successfully crushed several revolts against him by his fellow gods. From his position atop Mount Olympus Zeus was thought to observe the affairs of men, seeing everything, governing all, and rewarding good conduct and punishing evil. Besides dispensing justice, Zeus was the protector of cities, the home, property, strangers, guests, and supplicants. Zeus had many love affairs with both mortal and immortal women. In order to achieve his amorous designs, Zeus frequently assumed animal forms, such as that of a cuckoo when he ravished Hera, a swan when he ravished Leda, or a bull when he carried off Europa. Notable among his offspring were the twins Apollo and Artemis, by the Titaness Leto; Helen and the Dioscuri, by Leda of Sparta; Persephone, by the goddess Demeter; Athena, born from his head after he had swallowed the Titaness Metis; Hephaestus, Hebe, Ares, and Eileithyia, by his wife, Hera; Dionysus, by the goddess Semele; and many others.

450- Zoroaster

Little is known of Zoroaster's life. Some scholars believe he lived between 1400 and 1000 B.C. in what is now northeastern Iran. But Zoroastrian tradition teaches that Zoroaster, also known in old Iranian as Zarathushtra or Zarathustra, was born around 628 BC probably at Rhages, Iran and he died -probably assassinated- about 551. He left his home in search of religious truth. After wandering and living alone for several years, he began to have revelations at the age of 30. In a vision, he spoke with Vohu Manah, a figure who represented the Good Mind. In the vision, Zoroaster's soul was led in a holy trance into the presence of Ahura Mazda. In the years after his revelations, Zoroaster composed the Gathas and spread the teachings of Ahura Mazda. Zoroaster's conversion of Vishtaspa, a powerful ruler, strengthened the new religion.

Zoroaster was an Iranian religious reformer and founder of Zoroastrianism, or Parsiism, as it is known in India, and a major personality in the history of the religions of the world. Zoroaster has been the object of much attention for two reasons.

- He became a legendary figure connected with occult knowledge and magical practices in the Near Eastern and Mediterranean world in the Hellenistic Age (300 BC to AD 300).

- His monotheistic concept of God has attracted the attention of modern historians of religion, who have speculated on the connections between his teaching and Judaism and Christianity.

Claims of pan-Iranianism, that Zoroastrian or Iranian ideas influenced Greek, Roman, and Jewish thought, may be disregarded; however the influence of Zoroaster's religious thought must be recognized but several problems concerning the religion's founder soon arise. For instance:

What part of Zoroastrianism derives from Zoroaster's tribal religion and what part was new as a result of his visions and creative religious genius?

To what extent does the later Zoroastrian religion (Mazdaism) of the Sasanian period (AD 224-651) genuinely reflected the teachings of Zoroaster?

To what extent do the sources -the Avesta (the Zoroastrian scriptures) with the Gathas (older hymns), the Middle Persian Pahlavi Books, and reports of various Greek authors- offer an authentic guide to Zoroaster's ideas?

Zoroaster's biography is limited or speculative. The date of Zoroaster's life cannot be ascertained with any degree of certainty. According to Zoroastrian tradition, he flourished "258 years before Alexander the Great and this would put him in 588 BC. According to tradition, he was 40 years old when this event occurred, thus indicating that his birthdate was 628 BC.

451- Zosimus

Zosimus was consecrated as Pope St. Innocent I's successor on March 18, 417. His brief but turbulent pontificate was embroiled in conflicts involving Gaul, Africa, and Pelagianism, a heretical doctrine that minimized the role of divine grace in man's salvation. The Pelagians, whose proponent Pelagius had been excommunicated on January 27, 417, by Innocent and whom the African bishops in general condemned, appealed to Rome and were rehabilitated. However, the next year Zosimus, again doubting Pelagius' orthodoxy, read his commentary on Romans; shocked by its doctrine, he issued the Epistola tractoria ("Epistolary Sermon") that excommunicated Pelagius and condemned his doctrine. Pelagius, horrified by his excommunication left, probably for Egypt.

452- Zostrianos

Zostrianos was a Christian Gnostic. He said that the process of pneumatic initiation is, in fact, "the purification of the unbornness".

Part III: Who was Who (Pagans, Gnostics, Literalist Christians, Jews, Others)?

1- Pagans

- Adonis, the main Syrian God.

- Aeschylus was born in 525/524 BC and died in 456/455 BC, the first of classical Athens' great tragic dramatists.

- Aesculapius (or Asclepius), in Greek Asklepios, was the "blameless physician", the son of Apollo and Coronis. He learned the healing art from Chiron and was killed by Zeus for restoring Hippolytus to life. His daughter Hygieia personified health.

- Agrippa, was an ancient Greek philosophical skeptic of the 2d century AD; he described the five tropes, or grounds for the suspension of judgment

- Agrippa von Nettesheim, Henry Cornelius, expert on occultism, and philosopher, 1486-1535

- Ahriman, evil spirit of the Zoroastrianists.

- Ahura Mazda, Supreme God of the Zoroastrianists.

- Alexander of Lycopolis was a Platonist philosopher of the end of the 3d century AD and the beginning of the 4th. It is not certain if he was a Christian even if some traces say that he was the Bishop of Lycopolis.

- Alexander III the Great of Macedonia (356-323 BC), the son of Philip II and Olympias of Epirus. He became king in 336 BC.

- Aleyin, the Son of God in Canaanite mythology, is killed by his brother Mot. Aleyin resurrects and kills Mot.

- Amesha Spenta means the "beneficent immortal" or "Immortal Bounteous One". In Zoroastrianism it is any of the six divine beings created by Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, to govern creation.

- Ammonius Saccas (or Saccus) or Ammon was a 3d century AD Pagan Neoplatonist (although brought up as a Christian) philosopher of Alexandria, the teacher of Origen and Plotinus.

- Anahiti, also called Anahita, is an ancient Iranian goddess of royalty, war, and, mainly, fertility.

- Anat, also spelled Anath, was a Canaanite fertility goddess and a Semitic goddess of love and war, the sister and helpmate of the god Baal.

- Anaxagoras, 503/428 BC, Greek philosopher from Asia Minor(Alexandria). Teacher of Origen and Plotinus

- Angra Mainyu, according to the Avesta, is the "enemy Spirit". In the Gathas, Zoroaster contrasts him with "Spenta Mainyu", the "Holy Spirit".

- Antiphon, a Pagan philosopher.

- Aphrodite, the main Syrian Goddess

- Apollo (Phoebus) was a Greek deity with many functions and meanings.

- Apollonius of Tyana, 1t century AD, Pythagorean philosopher.

- Apuleius Lucius, 125/190 AD, from Madaura, Roman Colony, North Africa. He was a Pagan Platonic philosopher, rhetorician, and author of the "Golden Ass", an allegorical tale of his initiation into the Mysteries.

- Aratus, old Pagan sage of Tarsus, quoted by Paul.

- Ariadne was the wife of Dionysus.

- Aristeas of Prokonnesos was a wonder-worker of around the 7th century BC. He was said to have the gift of constant ecstasy and bilocation.

- Aristo (or Ariston) of Chios lived in the 3rd century BC; he was a Greek philosopher, a student of Zeno, the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy.

- Aristotle, born in 384 BC, died in 322, was a Greek philosopher and scientist.

- Artemis, the name of the goddess of the wild, the hunt, fertility and childbearing.

- Asclepius (Asklepios in Greek), Greco-Roman god of medicine, son of Apollo and the nymph Coronis.

- Athena or Athens was protecting the city, the goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason; the Romans identified her with Minerva.

- Attis, mythical husband of the Great Mother of the Gods (Cybele); he was worshipped in Phrygia, Asia Minor, and in the Roman Empire, where he was made a solar deity in the 2nd century AD.

- Baal, the main God in the area around Judea, the equivalent of Osiris in Egypt, Dionysus in Greece, Attis in Asia Minor, Marduk in Mesopotamia, Mithras in Persia and Adonis in Syria.

- Celsus, 2d century AD, a critic of emerging Christianity.

- Ceres, in Roman religion, was the goddess of the growth of food plants (corn-goddess), worshiped either alone or in association with the earth goddess Tellus.

- Cybele, a Phrygian Mother goddess whose high priest was given the name of Attis, she was attended by a band of fanatical devotees called galli.

- Damascius was a 5th century AD Greek Neoplatonist philosopher and the last Platonic scholars at the Greek Academy at Athens.

-Darius I The Great (about 558-486 BC) was king of Persia (521-486 BC).

- Demeter, the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, sister and consort of Zeus, and goddess of agriculture. Her name may mean either "grain mother" or "mother earth.

- Demetrius of Phateron, philosopher, about 350/280 BC.

- Diagoras, 5th century BC, satirical condemnation of superstitious religions.

- Diodorus Cronus, philosopher of the Megarian School. Born in the 4th century BC.

- Diodorus Siculus, Greek historian of the first century BC. Wrote the Bibliotheca historica, a complete history of Greece up to his time.

- Diogenes, around 320 BC, founder of the Cynic school of philosophy.

- Dionysus or Bacchus, the god of fruitfulness and vegetation, was also known as a god of wine and ecstasy; his cult represented a reversion to pre-Hellenic Minoan nature religion.

- Diotina, priestess who taught Socrates (?).

- Empedocles, 490/430 BC, philosopher, disciple of Pythagoras.

- Epictetus, 55/135 AD, exponent of the Stoics philosophy.

- Epicurus (341-270 BC) was a Greek philosopher who founded his own school.

- Eratosthenes of Cyrene, 276/194 BC, keeper of the Alexandrian Library, wrote on mathematics, geography, philosophy and astronomy.

- Eros, in Greek mythology, was the god of love.

- Eshmun was a God of Sidon (Phoenicia), assimilated by the Greek with Asklepios and also a fertility god who became important in Carthage.

- Eumolpus, one of the founders of the Greek Eleusinian Mysteries.

- Eunapius, Neoplatonist writer of the 4th century AD.

- Euripides, 484/406 BC, Greek tragedian.

- Eurydice, in an ancient Greek legend was the wife of Orpheus.

- Eusebius of Myndus lived in the 4th century AD. He was a Neoplatonist philosopher, a pupil of Aedesius of Pergamum.

- Hadrian (76-138 AD), a Roman Emperor (117-138) who did not persecute the Christians. In 132 he began to rebuild Jerusalem as a Greek city, but Simonbar Kosiba started a revolt that ended by the Roman victory.

- Hammurabi flourished in the 18th century BC. He became king of Babylonia, and the greatest ruler in the first Babylonian dynasty. Hammurabi is best known for his codification of the laws governing Babylonian life.

- Heliodorus of Emesa, 3d century AD, writer and teacher of the Mysteries.

- Heracles (the Roman Hercules) is a Greco-Roman legendary hero. Traditionally Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene.

- Heraclides, a Greek philosopher and writer of the 4th century AD.

- Heraclitus, about 540 BC, died about 480, mystic philosopher of Phesus, Asia Minor, wrote about the Word of God (Logos).

- Hercules, the Roman name for the Greek hero Heracles, is a hero in Greek mythology noted for his strength and courage and for his legendary exploits.

- Hermes or Hermes Trismegistus, was a Greek god, son of Zeus and Maia often identified with the Roman Mercury, patron deity of the hermetic literature.

- Herodotus, 484/430 BC, Greek historian including work on the Mysteries of Dionysus and Eleusis.

- Hesiod, Greek poet and writer who flourished around 700 BC.

- Hiram, King of Tyre, was the son and successor of Abibaal. He reigned during the 10th century BC and was on friendly terms with King David and Solomon.

- Homer, Greek writer/poet, 9th or 8th century BC.

- Horus (also Hor or Har) was a god in the form of a falcon whose eyes were the sun and the moon.

- Hypatia, Pagan scientist and Neoplatonist philosopher, Alexandria 370/415 AD.

- Iamblichus, Pagan initiate and writer. He was born around Ad 250 in Chalcis, died around 330; he was a philosopher of Neoplatonism.

- Indra was the main Vedic god of India. He conquered innumerable human and demon enemies, vanquished the sun, and killed the dragon Vrtra, who had prevented the monsoon from breaking.

- Ishtar was the main Mesopotanian Goddess.

- Isis, important goddess of ancient Egypt. Her name is associated with a word for "throne." In the Pyramid Texts (c. 2350-c. 2100 BC), she is the mourner for her murdered husband, the god Osiris.

- Julian the Apostate, 332/363, Roman Emperor who tried to revive Paganism after succeeding Constantine. Known as the "apostate".

- Jupiter was the chief ancient Roman and Italian god. Like Zeus, the Greek god with whom he is etymologically identical, Jupiter was a sky god.

- Libanius, known Pagan, lived from 314 to 393 AD. He was a Greek Sophist and rhetorician. Ignored the growing Christian Church.

- Livy of Patavium, together with Sallust and Tacitus he was one of the three great Roman historians.

- Lucian, 117/180 AD, Pagan philosopher born in Syria and educated at Tarsus, teacher in France.

- Lydus John (or Johannes), astrologer in Byzantium, 5th or 6th century AD.

- Macrobius, Latin grammarian and philosopher living around 400 AD.

- Magna Mater was the main Persian Goddess.

- Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161/180 AD, stoic philosopher.

- Marduk was the main Mesopotamian God.

- Maximus of Tyre, Sage, a member of the second sophistic movement of the 2d century AD.

- Metrodorus was a Pagan philosopher.

- Musaeus, mythical founder of the Greek Mysteries, also a mythical singer allied with Orpheus.

- Musonius Rufus lived in the first century AD. He was a stoic moralist and an exile under Emperor Nero. Justin and Origen admired him.

- Nebo (or Nabu) was a major god in the Assyro-Babylonian pantheon.

- Nephthys was Isis' sister in Egyptian mythology and the wife of the evil god Set.

- Nonnus of Panapolis was born about 400 AD in Panopolis, Egypt. He was a great Greek epic poet of the Roman period.

- Olympiodorus, philosopher, follower of Plato.

- Orpheus, ancient Greek legendary hero with musical skills, the son of a Muse (probably Calliope) and Oeagrus, a king of Thrace (or Apollo).

- Osiris, important gods of ancient Egypt, initially a local god of fertility in Lower Egypt. Around 2400 BC Osiris was both a god of fertility and the embodiment of the dead and resurrected king.

- Ovid (43 BC-AD 17?), a Roman poet whose narrative skill and linguistic virtuosity made him very popular. Ovid's frivolous and often licentious verse ran against the program of social and moral renewal promoted by Emperor Augustus.

- Parmenides was born around 515 BC. He was a Greek philosopher of Elea in southern Italy.

- Paul of Samosata, a 3rd century heretical bishop of Antioch and proponent of a kind of dynamic monarchian doctrine on the nature of Jesus Christ. He was excommunicated.

- Pausanias, 2d century AD, Greek writer who described the Mystery rites used in the temples he visited.

- Persephone, in Greek mythology, was the daughter of Zeus, the father of the gods, and of Demeter, goddess of the earth and of agriculture.

- Philostratus, Greek writer of the 2d/3d century AD, biographer of Apollonius.

- Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494), He was an Italian scholar and Platonist philosopher.

- Pilate, Pontius, lived in the 1st century AD. He was the Roman military governor of the imperial province of Judea from 26 to 36. Pilate is known mainly for his connection with the trial and execution of Jesus Christ.

- Pindar, 518/438 BC, Greek poet who was among the first to describe the doctrines of the Mystery schools.

- Plato, 429/348 BC, disciple of Socrates, philosopher influenced by the doctrines of the Mysteries and the mysticism of Pythagoras, founder of the philosophical school known as the Academy in Athens.

- Pliny the Elder was a Roman savant and author, (23/79 AD).

- Pliny the Younger was a Roman author and administrator who left a collection of private letters illustrating public and private life in the Roman Empire.

- Plotinus, 204/270 AD, influential mystic, described as inventor of neoplatonist Philosophy, studied in Alexandria with Ammonius Saccus.

- Plutarch, 46/125 AD, philosopher and biographer, priest of Apollo at Delphi.

- Porphyry, 232/303 AD, Pagan Philosopher, born in Tyre, studied philosophy at Athens, converted to neoplatonist after meeting Plotinus in Rome in 263. Wrote against the Christians.

- Proclus, 412/485 AD, Pagan philosopher born in Constantinople, one of the last heads of the Platonic Academy in Athens before it was closed by Justinian in 529 AD.

- Prometheus was one of the Titans, the supreme trickster, and a god of fire.

- Protagoras, 480/410 BC, first professional philosopher (Sophist) in Athens, indicted for heresy and put on trial but escaped and perished at sea.

- Psyche, in Roman mythology, was the beautiful princess loved by Cupid, the god of love.

- Pyrrhon of Elis, Greek philosopher, 360 to 272 BC. The word Pyrrhonism comes from his name. He is also described as the father of Scepticism.

-Pythagoras, about 580/500 BC, philosopher of the Greek Island of Samos, travelled widely and founded communities of mystics in Southern Italy. He was the hierophant of the Mysteries of Demeter and Dionysus.

- Pythya, oracular priestess at Delphi.

- Sallust, first century BC Roman historian and one of the great Latin literary stylists, noted for his narrative writings dealing with political personalities, corruption, and party rivalry.

- Sallustius, 4th century AD, neoplatonist philosopher who advised the Emperor Julian and his attempt to bring back Paganism.

- Sappho, great mystical and lyric poetess, priestess and prophetess, lived in Lesbos in the 6th century BC.

- Seneca the Younger, about 4BC/65AD, writer, philosopher, statesman and tutor of Nero, the future Roman Emperor.

- Serapis (also Sarapis), in Greek and Egyptian mythology, was a deity associated with Osiris, Hermes, and Hades.

- Set (Seth, Sutekh) was the god of the forces of chaos and of the hostile desert lands in Egyptian mythology.

- Sextus, Sage, writer, 3rd century ancient Greek philosopher and historian who produced the only extant comprehensive account of Greek Scepticism.

- Sibyl, Pagan oracular mythical prophetess.

- Silvanus, in Roman religion the god of the countryside, similar in character to Faunus, the god of animals, with whom he is often identified.

- Socrates, most famous philosopher of antiquity, executed for heresy in 399 BC.

- Sol was the name of two distinct sun gods at Rome. The original Sol, or Sol Indiges, had a shrine on the Quirinal. The second was known as Sol Invictus and had a temple on the Palatine.

- Sopatros, Pagan initiate.

- Suetonius, born in 69 AD, probably in Rome, died after 122. He was a Roman biographer and antiquarian whose writings include De viris illustribus ("Concerning Illustrious Men") and De vita Caesarum (Lives of the Caesars).

- Symmachus, 4th century AD, Pagan Roman Senator.

- Tacitus, born in 56 AD, died around 120. He was a Roman orator, a public official and a historian.

- Tammuz was a Babylonian god whose cult is one of the oldest in the world, and still survives in Kurdistan.

- Thales (circa 625-546 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Miletus, Asia Minor. He was the founder of Greek philosophy.

- Thoth was the Egyptian god of the moon, of reckoning, of learning, of writing, the inventor of writing, the creator of languages, the scribe, interpreter, the adviser of the gods, and the representative of the sun god, Re. The cult of Thoth was centred in the town of Hermopolis in Upper Egypt.

- Virgil, 70/19 BC, Roman poet, Pagan initiate, his work deals with the doctrines of the mysteries, astrology and the birth of the New Age.

- Xenophanes, 535/435 BC, Greek philosopher who ridiculed superstitious religions.

- Zeno of Citium (flourished late 4th and early 3rd century BC) was a Greek philosopher, founder of Stoicism.

- Zeus, chief deity of the Greek pantheon, a sky and weather god, identical with the Roman god Jupiter. Zeus was regarded as the sender of thunder and lightning, rain, and winds, and his traditional weapon was the thunderbolt. He was called the father that is the ruler and protector of both gods and men.

- Zoroaster, about 1400-1000 BC, an Iranian religious reformer and founder of Zoroastrianism, or Parsiism, as it is known in India, and a major personality in the history of the religions of the world.

2- Gnostics

- Alexander was a Gnostic mentioned by Clement of Alexandria.

- Apelles was a disciple of Marcion who studied Gnosticism probably in Alexandria. He was a follower of the Greek philosophers.

- Axionicus was a Valentinian Gnostic of the Oriental school.

- Barbelo, a mythical Christian Gnostic Goddess.

- Bardesanes, about 154/222 AD, author of various books and hymns written in Syriac including the Hymn of the Pearl.

- Basilides of Alexandria, 2d century AD, scholar and teacher, founded the Gnostic sect of the Basilidians.

- Blake William, 1757-1827, English poet, painter, engraver, and visionary mystic.

- Candidus, a follower of Valentinus, Origen went to Greece to argue with him in 229-230.

- Carpocrates, about 117 AD, Alexandrian Platonist, founded a sect of Gnostic Christians who used "The Secret Gospel of Mark" as their initiatory document.

- Cerdo, 2nd century AD Gnostic Christian, who believed that the God of the Old Testament could be distinguished from the God of the New Testament. Influenced Marcion and the marcionite Gnostic sect.

- Cerinthus lived in the 2nd century AD; he was a Christian Gnostic.

- Diodochus of Photice was a 4th century Gnostic of the Christian Eastern Church.

- Dositheus, about 100 AD, Gnostic Sage.

- Elkesai was a Syrian Judeo- Christian Gnostic prophet who appeared about 100 AD.

- Epiphanes, the son of Carpocrates, who died when 17 years old.

- Evagrius of Pontus was a 4th century Gnostic of the Christian Eastern Church.

- Faustus of Melevis was a 4th century Manicheist. He taught in Rome, then in Carthage where he met Augustine who disliked him and his beliefs.

- Heracleon, Gnostic Sage of the second century AD; leader of the Italian school of Gnosticism.

- Magus Simon, or Simon The Magician was active during the 1st century AD as a practitioner of magical arts. After becoming a Christian, offered to purchase the supernatural power of transmitting the Holy Spirit, thus giving rise to the term simony. Later identified as the founder of post-Christian Gnosticism.

- Mani, 216/about 300 AD, born in Babylonia, founded a Gnostic religion that bore his name. He was also a writer.

- Marcellina was a Valentinian teacher.

- Marcion, 2d century AD, Gnostic teacher born in Pontus, Asia Minor, he founded his own Gnostic sect whose name derives from his own name.

- Marcus was a Christian Gnostic sage.

- Marsanes was a Christian Gnostic sage.

- Menander was a first century AD Christian Gnostic from Samaria.

- Mithra, Sun God, a Gnostic religion bore his name, in ancient Indo-Iranian mythology, the god of light.

- Montanus, Pagan priest converted to Gnosticism, founded a heretical Christian Gnostic movement known as Montanism.

- Priscillian who died in 385 was the Bishop of Avila, Spain from about 380 and the founder of a Gnostic sect (Priscillianism).

- Ptolemy, active from AD 127 to AD 145 in Alexandria. He was an astronomer, geographer, and mathematician who considered the Earth the centre of the universe.

- Saturninus of Antioch was a Christian Gnostic, a follower of Simon Magus.

- Shelley Mary, Author, 1797-1851, an English Romantic novelist best known as the author of Frankenstein.

- Silvanus, Constantine, Gnostic sage, he was the probable founder of the Middle Eastern sect of Paulicians.

- Simon de Cyrene, in some Gnostic myths he dies on the cross instead of Jesus.

- Sophia, the Gnostic Goddess of Wisdom (also known as Psyche, Zoe, Achamoth, Barbelo, etc.).

- Tatian, Justin Martyr's protégé, converted from Christianity to Gnosticism. He was also a writer.

- Theodore, Head of Pachomian Monastery at Tabinnisi near Nag Hammadi, 4th century AD. (?)

- Theodore of Mopsuestia (about 350-428) was a Christian theologian, Bishop of Mopsuestia in Cilicia, as the teacher of Nestorius; he was probably one of the founders of Nestorianism and as such a Gnostic.

- Theodotus the Gnostic, Gnostic sage, founded Eastern Gnosticism, a system of religious dualism with a doctrine of salvation by gnosis, or esoteric knowledge.

- Theudas was a Gnostic teacher. He taught Valentinus philosophy at Alexandria as well as the secret knowledge of Christianity.

- Tyconius was a Donatist theologian who met difficulties after 370 because of his writings. He was excommunicated by a Donatist synod at Carthage in 378 as a proponent of Catholic views on church and sacraments. He refused to join the Catholic Church.

- Valentinus, 100/180 AD, Christian Gnostic Teacher and poet.

- Voltaire, 1694/1778, one of the greatest of all French writers.

- Yeats, 1865/1939, he was an Irish poet, dramatist, and prose writer, one of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century.

- Zostrianos was a Christian Gnostic.

3- Literalist Christians

- Abercius (Avircius Marcellus) was the Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygya around 190 AD. He opposed Montanism.

- Acacius of Constantinople became its Patriarch in 471. He tried to unite the Eastern Church by a Chalcedonian formula (Heniticon)

- Achaicus, the name of a member of the Church of Corinth.

- Agabus, a Christian prophet of Jerusalem.

- Ambrose, 339/397, Roman lawyer, Bishop of Milan (about 370).

- Amphilochius (circa 542-395), became bishop of Iconium, province of Lycaonia, in 374.

- Anacletus (also called Cletus, or Anencletus) was the second pope (76-88 or 79-91) after St. Peter.

- Andrew was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus, the brother of Simon Peter and a native of Bethsaida.

- Anicetus, possibly a Syrian, died in Rome; he was pope from about 155 to 166.

- Anthony, 251/356 AD, Egyptian ascetic recluse. Organised he first community of Christian monks.

- Aphraates lived in the 4th century. He was a Syrian ascetic and the earliest-known Christian writer of the Syriac church in Persia.

- Apollinaris Claudius was the bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia from about 170 to 180 AD; a Christian leader, he preached against the Quatordecimans and the Montanists.

- Apollinaris the Younger (310/390 AD) was the bishop of Laodicea who developed the heretical doctrine called Apollinarianism.

- Aristides, lived in the 2nd century, he was an Athenian philosopher and one of the earliest Christian Apologists.

- Aristo of Pella (2d century AD) belonged to the Jewish-Christian Church that moved accross the Jordan before the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD.

- Arnobius, 3d century AD, Hermetist and Neoplatonist converted to Christianity, wrote about the compatibility between Christian and Pagan philosophy.

- Arnaud-Amaury was the commanding papal legate who ordered Simon de Montford's soldiers to kill all the inhabitants of Béziers, France during the crusades against the Cathars.

- Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, 4th century AD.

- Athenagoras of Athenes is described as a literalist Christian philosopher of the second century.

- Augustine, 354/430 AD, Literalist Christian after being a Manichaean Gnostic and a Neoplatonist. He became Bishop of Hippo, Africa, in 395 and he was made a saint.

- Barnabas (Saint), about 100 AD, said to be the author of "The Letters of Barnabas".

- Barsumas (circa 420-490) was a Nestorian Bishop of Nisibis and a follower of Ibas of Edessa.

- Bartholomew was one of the 12 apostles of Christ.

- Basil of Caesarea (329-379) was initially a Gnostic of the Christian Eastern Church. He played a leading role during the latest part of the Arian controversy. First a hermit, he became Bishop of Caesarea in 370.

- Benedict of Nursia (Saint)(480-550 AD) is the founder of the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino and father of Western monasticism.

- Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) was born near Dijon. In 1113 he became a monk in the Cistercian monastery of Cîteaux, and in 1115 he became abbot of a monastery at Clairvaux.

- Caecilian (dead circa 345) was the Bishop of Carthage over whose election the Donatist controversy started.

- Cassian (360 AD-435) was an ascetic monk, theologian, and founder and first abbot of the famous abbey of Saint-Victor at Marseille.

- Celestius (5th century) was one of the first and the most important of the disciples of the British theologian Pelagius.

- Cephas, the Christian Literalists assumes that this means Simon Peter, the Apostles and Saint.

- Christ is found in the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, translating varied forms of the mashìakh, "an anointed one," from which the English "Messiah" is derived.

- Clement of Alexandria, bishop of Alexandria, about 150-215, beatified by the Roman Catholic Church although most of his writings are Gnostic.

- Clement of Rome (Saint), 1t century AD, 4th bishop of Rome.

- Coelestius (5th century) was a disciple of Pelagius. While a lawyer in Rome he joined Pelagius in a life of ascetism and piety.

- Colluthus (4th century AD) was a priest of Alexandria who created a schism when he took on the right and power of ordination although he was only in presbyter's orders.

- Constantine the Great (about AD 274-337) was the first Roman emperor (306-37) to be converted to Christianity.

- Cornelius, a Roman Centurion who was baptised, a step towards admitting Gentiles into Christianity.

- Cyprian, born around AD 200 in Carthage where he died in 258, an early Christian theologian and bishop of Carthage who led the Christians of North Africa during a period of persecution from Rome. Became a saint.

- Cyril of Alexandria, born around 375, died on June 27, 444; he was a Christian theologian and bishop active in the doctrinal struggles of the 5th century. Became a saint.

- Cyril of Jerusalem (315/386), he was the bishop of Jerusalem and doctor of the church who promoted the development of Jerusalem as a pilgrimage centre for all Christians.

- Diodorus of Tarsus (died about 390 AD) was he was the head of an Antiochene monastery and bishop of Tarsus from 378.

- Dionysius Exigus lived in the 6th century AD. He is the inventor of the Christian calendar. Tradition refers to him as an abbot.

- Dionysius the Aeropagite was Paul's co-worker.

- Dominic (St), about 1170-1221 AD

- Dyonisius of Tarsus was the Bishop of Corinth (about 170) and author of seven "Catholic Epistles". They show that he was anti-Marcionite, opposed to excessive ascetism and an advocate of Roman Church Episcopal authority.

- Eckhart Johannes, Meister (circa 1260-1328) was a German mystic and Christian theologian.

- Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist in the New Testament, and the wife of Zacharias, a priest. She was made a saint.

- Epiphanius, 315/403 AD, bishop of Salamis in Greece. With Jerome attacked Origen.

- Eusebius was pope from April 18 to Aug. 17, 309/310. He died in exile in Sicily. He was made a saint.

- Eusebius of Caesarea (Pamphilus) 260/340 AD, historian and biographer of Constantine. Became a Christian bishop although he was initially an Arian heretic.

- Eusebius of Dorylaeum (5th century) was bishop of Dorylaeum and an opponent of the Nestorians. While a layman, he challenged the teaching of Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople.

- Eusebius of Emesa was born in circa 300 AD; he was a disciple of Eusebius of Caesarea, bishop of Emesa, and a chief doctrinal writer on Semi-Arianism.

- Eusebius of Laodicea was a deacon of Alexandria who became bishop of Laodicea, after risking his life helping Christian martyrs during the persecutions. He was a former pupil of Origen.

- Eusebius of Nicomedia was an important 4th-century Eastern Church bishop and a proponent of Arianism who eventually became the leader of an Arian group called the Eusebians.

- Eusebius of Samosata (Saint) died in circa 379; he was a Christian martyr and famous opponent of Arianism. In 361 he became bishop of the ancient Syrian city of Samosata.

- Eusebius of Vercelli was born in the 4th century; he was a supporter of St. Athanasius the Great of Alexandria and a restorer of the Nicene Creed

- Eustathius was bishop of Sebaste and metropolitan of Roman Armenia. He was noted for his extreme or heterodox theological positions.

- Eustathius of Antioch was also called Eustathius The Great; he opposed the followers of the condemned doctrine of Arius at the Council of Nicaea.

- Faustus of Riez was bishop of Riez, France, and an exponent and defender of Semi-Pelagianism.

- Firmicus Maternus, 4th century AD, a Pagan converted later in life to Christianity, wrote on astrology.

- Firmilian of Caesarea who died about 269 was one of the best-liked bishops (circa 230) of the East.

- Flora was a Roman Christian woman.

- Francis of Assisi (St), 1182/1226, Roman Catholic Bishop, founded the Order of the Franciscans.

- Gaius of Rome (3d century AD) was a presbyter during the time of Bishop Zephyrinus and an opponent to the Montanists.

- Gelasius I *Saint) was pope from 492 to 496, succeeding St. Felix III in March 492. Gelasius combatted the Eastern Acacian Schism of Patriarch Acacius.

- Gelasius of Caesarea became Bishop of Caesarea around 367. Expelled from his see due to his agreement with the Nicene theology during Valens' reign; he was restored when Theodosius became emperor in 379.

- George of Cappodocia was a learned Arian prelate, one of Julian the Apostate's Christian tutors. He was imposed on the see of Alexandria during the third exile of Athanasius the Great.

- George of Laodicea was bishop of Laodicea and a promoter of the homoiousian theological position of the early Christian church.

- George (Saint) lived in the 3rd century. He was an early Christian martyr who during the Middle Ages became an ideal of martial valour and selflessness. He is the patron saint of England.

- Gregory of Nazianzus was a 4th-century Church Father whose defence of the doctrine of the Trinity (God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) made him one of the greatest champions of orthodoxy against Arianism.

- Gregory of Nyssa was a philosophical theologian and mystic, and a leader of the orthodox party in the 4th-century Christian controversies over the doctrine of the Trinity.

- Gregory Thaumaturgus, see Thaumaturgus Gregory.

- Hegesippus (2nd century AD) was a Greek Christian Orthodox historian who opposed the heresy of Gnosticism.

- Helena was the Roman emperor Constantius I Chlorus' wife who divorced her for political reasons. Her son, Constantine I the Great became emperor at York (306); he made her empress dowager. She later became a Christian.

- Helvidius, a Roman churchman of the 4th century AD and a disciple of Auxentius, the Arian Bishop of Milan. He denied the perpetual virginity of Mary believing that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Mary being a virgin but, afterwards, she lived a normal married life with Joseph, giving birth to other sons.

- Heraclas, attended lectures given by Ammonius Saccas the founder of Neoplatonism, became bishop of Alexandria.

- Hermas, second century AD, wrote a mixture of Hermetic, Sibylline and Jewish/Christian Apocalypse. Not included in the New Testament.

- Hilary of Poitiers (315/367) was a champion of orthodoxy against Arianism and the first Latin writer to introduce Greek doctrine to Western Christendom.

- Hippolytus of Rome, about 170/235 AD, Christian writer and heresy-hunter, was considered the most important 3rd-century theologian of the Roman church. Became a saint.

- Hosius of Cordoba was the Spanish bishop of Córdoba and one of the chief defenders of orthodoxy in the West against the Donatists.

- Hyginus was probably born in Greece, he died in Rome about 140 AD; he was pope from about 136 to about 140. Became a saint.

- Ignatius of Antioch, 2d century AD, early Literalist Christian writer. He became the bishop of Antioch; died about 110 AD in Rome. Became a saint.

- Irenaeus, 130/202 AD, Bishop of Lyon in 178, France; Literalist Christian and opponent of Gnosticism. Became a saint.

- Jacob of Nisibis was the Bishop of Nisibis and the teacher of Ephraem Syrus. He participated at the Nicaea Council as an opponent to the Arians.

- James (Saint), the son of Zebedee a Galilean fisherman and the elder brother of John, was one of the twelve Apostles.

- James (Saint) may be he whose mother, Mary, is mentioned among the women at Jesus' crucifixion and tomb. He is not to be confused with the apostle St. James, son of Zebedee, or James, "the Lord's brother."

- Jerome, 342/420 AD, biblical scholar and translator of the Bible in Latin. Attacked Origen's doctrines of reincarnation and the ultimate salvation of all. Became a saint.

- Jesus Christ was born around 6 BC in Judaea, died in AD 30 in Jerusalem. He is considered to be the founder of Christianity,

- John the Evangelist (Saint), one of the first disciples called by Jesus, the author of the fourth Gospel.

- John the Baptist lived between 8 and 4 BC until about AD 27 and, according to all four Gospels, he was the precursor of Jesus Christ.

- John the Presbyter, the presumed but unknown author of II and III John.

- Joseph (Saint), according to the New Testament, was the husband of the Virgin Mary.

- Joseph of Arimathea was a rich Jew of Arimathea, probably a member of the Sanhedrin. After the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, he requested the body from the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate and placed it in his own tomb.

- Judas Barsabbas was a Christian prophet of Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament and an Elder of the Christian Jerusalem Church.

- Judas Iscariot (died about AD 28) was the apostle who betrayed Jesus Christ to the Sanhedrin.

- Jude was a servant of Jesus Christ, and James' brother as well as the assumed author of a New Testament Book of the same name.

- Julian of Eclanum was the bishop of Eclanum and is considered the most intellectual leader of the Pelagians. He was ordained and circa 417 succeeded his father, Memorius, as bishop. He was an early supporter of Pelagius.

- Julius I (Saint) was pope from 337 to 352 being elected four months after St. Mark's death on Feb. 6, 337. Julius was a defender of orthodoxy against Arianism.

- Julius Africanus (circa 160-240) was a Christian writer. He wrote a world history in five books and an encyclopaedia of 24 books.

- Justin Martyr (St), about 100-165, born in Samaria, converted to Literalist Christianity. Became a saint.

- Lactantius, 240/320 AD, converted from Hermetic philosophy to Literalist Christianity in 300.

- Lazarus is the name of two persons mentioned in the New Testament. Mary and Martha of Bethany had a brother named Lazarus whom Jesus' raised from the dead after four days in the tomb. Lazarus is also the name Jesus gave to the leper of the parable in Luke 16.

- Lucian of Antioch was a Christian theologian and martyr who created a theological tradition at Antioch.

- Lucian of Samosata (circa 115-200), he knew Christianity and thought it to be better than the doctrine of the charlatan Alexander of Abonoteichops.

- Lucifer is a name commonly used for the devil. It was originally a Latin word meaning light bearer.

- Lucius I, died on March 5, 254 AD, was pope from June 253 to March 254, succeeding St. Cornelius. Became a saint.

- Luke (Saint), Saint Paul's companion, the author of the third Gospel.

- Macarius Magnes was active in the 5th century. He was an Eastern Orthodox bishop and polemicist, author of an apology for the Christian faith.

- Macarius of Jerusalem was a defender of orthodoxy against Arianism. Macarius became Bishop of Jerusalem in about 313 AD and he attended the Council of Nicaea.

- Macarius the Egyptian was also called Macarius The Great, a monk and ascetic who advanced the ideal of monasticism in Egypt and influenced its development throughout Christendom.

- Macedonius was a Greek bishop of Constantinople and a leading moderate Arian theologian in the 4th-century Trinitarian controversy. His teaching concerning the Son oscillated between attributing to him an "identity of essence" (Greek: homoousios) and "perfect similarity" with the divinity of the Father, or Godhead.

- Magnus Albertus, 1200-1280, a Dominican bishop and philosopher best known as a proponent of Aristotelianism.

- Mark the Evangelist (Saint), Saint Paul's assistant, the author of the second Gospel.

- Martha was the sister of Lazarus of Bethany; she had also a sister called Mary.

- Mary is the virgin mother of Jesus Christ and as such is venerated by Christians since apostolic times.

- Mary Magdalene was a woman from Magdala, a town near Tiberias. Jesus healed her of evil spirits and he appeared to her after his resurrection.

- Matthew the Evangelist (Saint), the author of the first gospel.

- Matthias the Disciple was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot after Judas betrayed Jesus.

- Melito of Sardis, about 160 AD, bishop and writer.

- Methodius of Olympus who died circa 311 AD was Bishop of Lycia and an opponent of Origen.

- Minucius Felix, writer, described as a Latin Apologist.

- Monoimos was an early Christian sage and master.

- Narses (or Narsai) the Leper (circa 399-502) was a Nestorian theologian. He directed the theological school in Edessa and he founded the main Nestorian school of theology in Nisibis.

- Nemesius of Emesa was a Christian philosopher, apologist, and bishop of Emesa and the author of "Peri physeos anthropou" ("On the Nature of Man"), the first known book of theological anthropology with a Christian orientation.

- Nestorius was the founder of the Nestorian controversy, a major Christian heresy. He studied at Antioch probably under Theodore of Mopsuestia before entering the monastery of Euprepios near Antioch.

- Noetus was a presbyter in Smyrna but he was expelled later on. His doctrine was brought to Rome by his disciples Cleomenes and Epigonus.

- Optatus was the Bishop of Milevis. He wrote "Against the Schism of the Donatists". This book is a source for the history of the Donatists.

- Origen, 185/254 AD, born in Alexandria, studied Pagan philosophy with Plotinus under Ammonius Saccus, was Clement's pupil. Described as a Literalist Christian although his work is mainly Gnostic. Condemned posthumously by the Church as heretic in the 5th century.

- Orosius, born in Braga, Spain, active around 414-417. He was an early Christian orthodox, theologian, and author of the first world history by a Christian.

- Pachomius (Saint), 290/346 AD, Egyptian founder of the first Christian monastery near nag Hammadi where the Gnostic gospels were found in 1946. Described as a Literalist Christian but he was probably Gnostic.

- Palladius was a Galatian monk, bishop, and chronicler whose account of early Egyptian and Middle Eastern Christian monasticism provides a valuable source on the origins of Christian asceticism.

- Pamphilus was a pupil of Pierus of Alexandria, a presbyter at Caesarea in Palestine, and the founder of a church library around a collection of Origen's works.

- Pantaenus was the first known teacher at the catechetical school in Alexandria and the teacher of Clement of Alexandria. After his conversion from Stoicism he became a missionary teacher going as far as India.

- Papias of Hierapolis, about 110 AD, tried to construct the first Christian canon, writer.

- Patrick (Saint) is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland, credited with bringing Christianity to this country, and probably responsible in part for the Christianisation of the Picts and Anglo-Saxons.

- Paul of Constantinople came to Constantinople in about 330 and became Bishop of that town around 335. A friend of Athanasius, he voted against him at a trial in Constantinople but later rescinded.

- Paul of Tarsus (St), Greek-speaking Roman citizen of Tarsus in Asia Minor. Described as a Literalist Christian but also the inspirator of Gnosticism.

- Paul of Thebes, also called Paul The Hermit, was an ascetic who is traditionally regarded as the first Christian hermit.

- Pelagius was born about 354 and he died after 418. He was a monk and theologian who founded a heterodox theological system known as Pelagianism

- Peter (Simon Peter, Saint) was the most prominent of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ, a leader and missionary in the early church, and traditionally the first bishop of Rome.

- Peter of Alexandria who died as a martyr under Maximinus in 311 was Bishop of Alexandria from 300.

- Philip was born in Bethsaida in Galilee. He was one of the Twelve Apostles.

- Philip the Arabian who died in 249 was Roman Emperor from 244. He was a Christian according to Eusebius.

- Philip the Evangelist was also called Philip The Deacon. In the early Christian church he was one of the seven deacons appointed to tend the Christians of Jerusalem.

- Philostorgius was a Byzantine historian, partisan of Arianism, a Christian heresy asserting the inferiority of Christ to God the Father.

- Pionius was a martyr during the ecian persecution. He is thought to be the author of "Life of Polycarp" that still exists in part.

- Polycarp (Saint), early Christian martyr, said by Irenaeus to have been appointed bishop of Smyrna by Peter.

- Polycrates was Bishop of Ephesus in about 190 and the leader of the Asia Minor Church in its struggle to retain its rites against the Roman Church insistence upon uniform Easter observance.

- Pothinus, Bishop of Lyon, France.

- Praxeas was an Asiatic Christian who came to Rome in 190 and then went to Africa. He opposed Montanism and taught modalistic monarchianism or Patripassianism.

- Proclu who died in 446 was the Patriarch of Constantinople from 434.

- Prosper of Aquitaine (Saint) was an early Christian polemicist known for his defence of Augustine of Hippo and his doctrine on grace, predestination, and free will, which became a norm of the Roman Catholic Church.

- Prudentius, Aurelius Clemens (circa 348-410) was a Latin poet, hymnographer and a lawyer in Spain.

- Rufinus Tyrannius, born around 345 AD at Concordia, Italy, died in 410 or 411 in Sicily. He was a Roman priest, writer, theologian, and translator of Greek theological works into Latin.

- Sabellius was a Christian writer who did not hesitate to study and use the Pagan traditions.

- Salvian (circa 400-480), also called "teacher of bishops", was a presbyter and writer. He was born in the Rhineland.

- Serapion (died 211) was bishop of Antioch; he opposed Montanism and wrote against conversion to Judaism.

- Serapion of Thmuis (died after 360 AD) was a 4th century Christian prelate. First a monk, he became Bishop of Thmuis around 339. He was a friend and protégé of Athanasius.

- Severian of Gabala was bishop of Gabala, a theologian, and orator. He was also the principal opponent of the 4th-century Greek Orthodox church father and patriarch of Constantinople, John Chrysostom.

- Severus of Antioch was a Greek monk-theologian, patriarch of Antioch, and a leader of the monophysites.

- Shenoute was the abbot of the White Monastery in Upper Egypt for many years, a follower of the Rules of Pachomius. He attacked paganism and offered guidance to monks and laity.

- Silas was a Christian prophet of Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament and an Elder of the Christian Jerusalem Church.

- Simeon Stylites (Saint) - was called Simeon the Elder- was a Syrian monk who was the first known stylite, or pillar hermit.

- Socrates Scholasticus (circa 380-450) was a Greek Church historian. He is the author of a seven books "Ecclesiastical History".

- Soter (Saint), born at Fondi, Italy, died in 175 AD in Rome; he was pope from about 166 to about 175 succeeding St. Anicetus. He continued Pope Anicetus' attack against Montanism.

- Sulpicius Severus, born around 363 AD in Aquitania, Gaul, died around 420. An early Christian ascetic, a chief authority for contemporary Gallo-Roman history, and a good writer. A lawyer, he was baptized in about 390. He devoted his life as a literary recluse in Aquitania.

- Symeon of Mesapotamia was the main theologian of the Messalian ascetics His austere sect advocated the rejection of all worldly pursuits including work.

- Synesius of Cyren, studied philosophy under Hypatia at Alexandria. Became bishop of Ptolemais (c. 410).

- Tertullian, Latin Apologist, about 160-220 AD, born in Carthage, lawyer in Rome, converted to Literalist Christianity about 195 and to Gnosticism in 207.

- Thaddaeus (Saint), or Judas, the son of James was one of the twelve Apostles.

- Thaumaturgus Gregory, born about 213 AD in Neocaesarea, died about 270 in Neocaesarea. He was a Greek Christian and a defender of orthodoxy in the 3rd-century Trinitarian controversy. He discovered Christianity while studying under Origen. Later he was made a bishop and committed his life to Christianising that largely pagan region.

- Thecla, according to Syrian oral tradition, was a woman born in Iconium who, at the age of 18, accompanied Paul in his journeys baptising and preaching.

- Theodotus of Ancyra was a theologian, bishop of Ancyra, and an advocate of orthodoxy in the discussion of the nature and Person of Christ at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Theodotus was an opponent of Nestorius.

- Theodotus of Byzantium (also Theodotus the Tanner) was an Adoptionist Monarchian. He was a wealthy and cultured tanner of Byzantium who went to Rome circa 189 during the reign of Pope Victor I.

- Theognotus is said to have been the head of the school at Alexandria (248-282) as successor to Dionysius.

- Theophilus of Alexandria was a theologian and patriarch of Alexandria, an opponent of non-Christian religions, a severe critic of heterodox influence among Christian writers and monks, and a major figure in the ecclesiastical politics of the Greek Orthodox Church.

- Theophilus of Antioch was Bishop of Antioch during the reign of Commodus (180-192); he is described as a literalist Christian philosopher of the second century.

- Thomas (Saint) was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.

- Timothy was a Literalist Christian writer who did not like the Christian Gnostics. Timothy was born in Lystra and he died in AD 97 at Ephesus. He was a disciple of St. Paul.

- Titus (Saint) lived in 1st century AD and he died in Crete. He was a disciple and secretary of St. Paul the Apostle. According to tradition he was the first bishop of Crete.

- Titus of Bostra was Bishop of Bostra but Emperor Julian the Apostate expelled him in 362 to create division among the Christians of that city. In 363 he participated to a Synod in Antioch, again as Bishop of Bostra. This Synod ratified the Nicene Creed.

- Ulfilas was a Christian bishop and missionary who evangelised the Goths, reputedly created the Gothic alphabet, and wrote the earliest translation of the Bible into a Germanic language.

- Zacharias Rhetor was a monophysite writer, a student in Alexandria, and a member of an ascetic brotherhood. He became a lawyer in Constantinople.

- Zosimus was Pope St. Innocent I's successor on March 18, 417. He was involved in conflicts about Gaul, Africa, and Pelagianism.

4- Jews

- Aaron, the first Jewish high priest and the traditional founder of the Hebrew priesthood. Aaron was the older brother of Moses and a descendant of the tribe of Levi.

- Abel, the second son of Adam and Eve and the brother of Cain.

- Abraham or Abram was a biblical patriarch, progenitor of the Hebrews, who probably lived in the period between 2000 and 1500 BC. Abraham was the son of Terah, a descendant of Shem, and was born in the city of Ur of the Chaldees, where he married his half sister Sarai, or Sarah.

- Adam and Eve, according to the Bible, were the first man and woman, progenitors of the human race.

- Adonai, God of the Israelites.

- Akiba ben Joseph, a well known rabbi (50-135 AD) who played an important part in Jewish life after the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 AD.

- Amos was the earliest Prophet whose sayings are in the Bible. Amos wrote one of 12 books known as the Minor Prophets, a book included in the Old Testament.

- Anat Jahu, see Asherah.

- Anne and Joachim (later on they were made saints by the Catholic Church), according to a tradition derived from certain apocryphal writings, Anne and Joachim were the parents of the Virgin Mary.

- Aristobulus of Paneas was a Jewish philosopher of Alexandria (around 3d-2d century BC). He tried to reconcile Jewish religion and Greek philosophy.

- Aristobulus I was also called Judas Aristobulus; he died 103 BC. He was the Hasmonean (Maccabean) Hellenised king of Judaea from 104 to 103 BC.

- Aristobulus II who died in 49 BC was the last of the Hasmonean (Maccabean) kings of Judaea.

- Artapanos was a 2d century BC Jewish writer.

- Asher, the 8th son of Jacob by Leah's maid, Zilpah, and named by Leah "Happy".

- Asherah, at one time the Israelites had worshipped Asherad as the wife of the Jewish God, Jehovah

- Barabbas was the prisoner who was released in the place of Jesus Christ at the time of the crucifixion.

- Bar Jesus, the name of a magician, a Jewish false prophet, probably an astrologer.

- Bar Kokhba who died in AD 135 was the Jewish leader who led the bitter unsuccessful revolt (AD 132-135) against Roman in Palestine.

- Cain was the first-born son of Adam and Eve, who murdered his brother Abel according to the Old Testament.

- David was king of Judah and Israel from 1000 until his death in 961 BC; he was the founder of the Judean dynasty.

- Delilah was the mistress of Samson, a judge of Israel. She betrayed Samsonto the Phillistines by cutting his hair while he slept.

- Elijah or Elias lived in 9th century BC and he was the most popular Hebrew prophet.

- Elohim, the general term used in the Old Testament for any divine being, but mainly in reference to the God of the Israelites.

- Esther was the Jewish wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). With her cousin Mordecai they persuaded the king to cancel an order by the king's chief minister, Haman, for the killing of all the Jews in the empire. Haman was hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai and the Jews destroyed their enemies.

- Eve, the first woman created by God.

- Ezekiel was a priest and prophet of the 6th century BC and a contemporary of Jeremiah.

- Ezra was a priest and scribe and a leading figure in the revival of Judaism in Palestine after the Babylonian Captivity.

- Habakkuk was the 8th of the minor twelve prophets; he flourished about 612-597 BC.

- Haggai was one of the twelve Minor Prophets. Little is known of the life and person of this prophet except that he lived in the 6th century BC.

- Herod Antipas (21 BC-AD 39) was the son of Herod the Great and the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea (4 BC-AD 39).

- Herod Archelaus was the son of Herod the Great from whom he inherited Judea, Samaria and Idumaea.

- Herodias was the second wife of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee from 4 BC to AD 39. She was responsible for the execution of John the Baptist.

- Herod Philip was the son of Herod the Great from whom he inherited the princedom of Batanaea, Trachonitis, Ituraea and Auranitis.

- Herod the Great (73-4 BC) was the Roman-backed king of Judea (37-4 BC), portrayed as a tyrant in Christian and Jewish tradition.

- Hosea was a 8th century BC minor prophet and the only one of the writing prophets to have lived and prophesied in Israel, or the northern kingdom.

- Isaac (Hebrew, "laughter"), an Old Testament patriarch, was the son of Abraham, half brother of Ishmael, and father of Jacob and Esau.

- Isaiah was born about 760 BC. He prophesied during the reign of Ahaz, king of Judah. According to tradition, Isaiah was martyred in either 701 or 690 BC.

- Ishmael (Hebrew, "may God hear") was the elder son of Abraham and the ancestor of many Arabian tribes.

- Jacob, in the Old Testament, was a Hebrew patriarch, the son of Isaac and Rebekah, and the grandson of Abraham.

- Jehovah, a form of Yahweh, the sacred Hebrew name for God revealed to Moses (Exodus 3:14). Yahweh was too holy to pronounce and about 200's B.C., the Jews used the word Adonai (Lord).

- Jehu, in the Old Testament, was a king of Israel. A prophet, the son of Hanani, was also called Jehu.

- Jeremiah was a Hebrew prophet, reformer, and author of an Old Testament book that bears his name.

- Joel was one of the twelve Minor Prophets but nothing is known about him and his life

- Jonah is one minor Hebrew prophet of the 8th century BC. He is the assumed author of an Old Testament book of the same name.

- Josephus Flavius, 38/107 AD, Jewish historian who defected to the Romans, mentioned Jesus Christ. His book, Bellum Judaicum (History of the Jewish War), was written in seven parts between AD 75 and 79.

- Joshua was the leader of the Israelite tribes after the death of Moses. Joshua a charismatic warrior who led Israel in the conquest of Canaan after the Exodus from Egypt.

- Justus of Tiberias, Jewish author.

- Leah was the first wife of Jacob and the traditional ancestor of five of the 12 tribes of Israel and the mother of six of Jacob's sons.

- Levi, the 3d son of Jacob, is the ancestor of one of the main tribe of Israel, priestly in character.

- Malachi was the author of the last book of the Twelve Minor Prophets.

- Micah was a minor Jewish prophet of the 8th century BC whose name was given to an Old Testament Book, part of which may have been written later.

- Moses was a Hebrew prophet and lawgiver, and the founder of Israel, or the Jewish people.

- Nahum of Elkosh was one of the twelve Minor Prophets.

- Nathan was a prophet and confidential adviser of David.

- Nehemiah was a Jewish leader who supervised the rebuilding of Jerusalem in the mid-5th century BC after his release from captivity by the Persian king Artaxerxes I.

- Obadiah is the name of one of the twelve Minor Prophets whose name was given to one of the books of the Old Testament.

- Philo Judaeus, a Greek-speaking Jewish philosopher, he was the most important representative of Hellenistic Judaism. Pythagorean author, (15BC/45 AD).

- Ruth was a Moabite woman who married the son of a Judaean couple living in Moab. After the death of her husband, Ruth moved to Judah where she became the wife of Boaz, a wealthy kinsman of her former husband, and bore Obed, who, according to the final verses of the book that was named after her, was the grandfather of David.

- Salome was the daughter of Herodias and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. She is said to be responsible for the execution of John the Baptist.

- Samson was an Israelite hero, a Nazirite and a legendary warrior who did incredible exploits.

- Samuel was a religious hero in the history of Israel: seer, priest, judge, prophet, and military leader. His greatest role was in the establishment of the monarchy in Israel.

- Saul was the first king of Israel (c. 1021-1000 BC) chosen by the judge Samuel and by the public.

- Simeon ben Yohai was one of a select group of Palestinian rabbinic teachers, one of the most eminent disciples of the martyred Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph and, traditionally, author of the Zohar.

- Solomon lived in the 10th century BC; he was the son and successor of David and traditionally regarded as the greatest king of Israel.

- Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, his name had been revealed to Moses as four Hebrew consonants (YHWH) called the TETRAGRAMMATON. As Judaism became a universal religion in the Greco-Roman world, the word Elohim, meaning "god," replaced Yahweh.

- Zadok is the name of the founder of an important branch of the Jerusalem priesthood. He was a descendant of Eleazar, the son of Aaron.

- Zechariah was a Jewish minor prophet. Zechariah was active from 520 to 518 BC and a contemporary of the prophet Haggai.

- Zephaniah was one of the Israelite Minor Prophets and the author of one of the Old Testament prophetical books. He lived in the 7th century BC.

5- Others

- Acacius of Caesarea was an exponent of Arianism who became bishop of Caesaria in Palestine in 340.

- Agricola (AD 40/93) was a Roman general celebrated for his conquests in Britain.

- Allah is the God of the Muslims.

- Ammianus Marcellinus was born around 330 in Antioch, Syria and he died in 395 at Rome. He was the last major Roman historian.

- Aratus lived from about 315 to 245 BC in Macedonia. He was a Greek poet of Soli in Cilicia best remembered for his poem on astronomy, Phaenomena.

- Aristophanes, 445/395 BC, Greek initiate of the Mysteries and writer.

- Arius (about 256/336 AD) studied at the theological school of Lucian of Antioch. After he was ordained a priest in Alexandria, in 319, Arius became involved in a controversy with his bishop concerning the divinity of Christ.

- Asterius the Sophist (died after 341AD) was the pupil of Lucian of Antioch who became a leader of the Arian movement.

- Auxentius (died in 373 or 374) was Bishop of Milan from 355 to his death. He was a Cappadocian by birth and Arian in theology.

- Böehme Jakob, (1575-1624), a theosophist and mystic, had a mystical experience in 1600 that led him towards meditation on the divine.

- Boethius (circa 480-524) was a Roman philosopher and statesman.

- Bruno Giordano, 1548-1600, an Italian philosopher, astronomer, mathematician, and occultist.

- Buddha (Gautama but he was also called Siddhartha) is the founder of Buddhism, a religion and philosophical system.

- Cicero, 106/43 BC, Roman lawyer and politician, initiated at Eleusis in 80 BC.

- Crowley Edward Alexander (Aleister), 1875-1947, a British writer and 'magician' who became interested in the occult, later founded the order known as the Silver Star.

- Dee John, 1527-1608, an English alchemist, astrologer, and mathematician.

- Goethe, 1749/1832, German poet, novelist, playwright, and natural philosopher, a great figure of the German Romantic period and of German literature.

- Hesse, Hermann (1877/1962) was a German novelist, poet, and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946.

- Jung 1875/1961, a Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist who founded analytic psychology.

- Krishna, the most revered and popular of all Indian divinities, worshipped as the eighth incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu and also as a supreme god in his own right.

- Melville, Herman (1819-91) was an US novelist, short-story writer, and poet.

- Newton was an English physicist and mathematician and a leading figure of the scientific revolution of the 17th century.

- Paracelsus Philippus Aureolus, 1493-1541, a German-Swiss physician and alchemist who established the role of chemistry in medicine.

Part IV: Pagan, Gnostic and Christian Literalist Books

1- Pagan Books

- Aeneid (The, tells the story of Rome's legendary founder and proclaims the Roman mission to civilize the world under divine guidance, by Virgil.

- Aethiopica or "An Ethiopian Romance", a romance by Heliodorus, 3d century AD.

- Against the Christians by Porphyry.

- Against the Dogmatists by Sextus.

- Ahikar (Book of) an Oriental wisdom book, probably of Assyrian origin, that survives in Syriac, Arabic, Armenian, ... It was written before the 5th century BC.

- Against Flaccus, on the crimes of Aulus Avillius Flaccus, the Roman governor of Egypt, against the Alexandrian Jews and on his punishment, by Philo Judaeus.

- Agamemnon describes the victorious return of that king from the Trojan War and his murder by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus by Aeschylus.

- Alexander, demystification and attack on a popular magician by Lucian.

- Alexander, presumably the author's nephew Tiberius Julius Alexander, who raises doubts, by Philo Judaeus.

- Allegories of the Laws, a commentary on Genesis, by Philo Judaeus.

- Amores (The love), erotic poems centred on Corinna by Ovid.

- Annals, dealing with the empire in the period from AD 14 to 68, by Tacitus.

- Apocolocyntosis divi Claudii (The) (The Pumpkinification of the Divine Claudius) is a political skit, witty and unscrupulous on the theme of the deification, or "pumpkinification", of Claudius by Seneca the Younger.

- Apologia ("Defense"), by Apuleius, the major source for his biography.

- Apologia for the theses, by Pico della Mirandola.

- Apology (The), was probably written in the early 380s, by Plato.

- Aporiai kai lyseis peri ton proton archon (Problems and Solutions About the First Principles), by Damascius, elaborates the comprehensive system of the Neoplatonist thinker Proclus.

- Ars amatoria (The Art of Love), by Ovid.

- Auction of Lives (The), a lighthearted work in which Zeno, Epicurus, and others are auctioned by Hermes in the underworld but very little is offered for them, by Lucian.

- Bacchae, work about the Mystery school doctrines, an important source of information about the cult of Dionysus, by Euripides.

- Banquet, an amusing account of an imaginary wedding feast given by a patron of the arts. Among the guests are representatives of every philosophical school, who all behave outrageously and start fighting over delicacies to take home when the party comes to an end, by Lucian.

- Bellum Catilinae -43/42 BC- (Catiline's War), describes the corruption in Roman politics by tracing the conspiracy of Catiline and describes the course of the conspiracy and the measures taken by the Senate and Cicero, by Sallust.

- Bellum Jugurthinum -41/40 BC- (The Jugurthine War), explores the origins of party struggles that arose in Rome when war broke out against Jugurtha, the king of Numidia, who rebelled against Rome at the close of the 2nd century BC, by Sallust.

- Bibliotheca Historica (Historical Library), a history of the world in 40 books, from the creation through the Gallic Wars and up to the first years of the empire, by Diodorus Siculus.

- Bioi sophiston, Lives of the Sophists, treating both the classical Sophists of the 5th century BC and later philosophers and rhetoricians by Philostratus.

- Bioi paralleloi (Parallel Lives) describes the deeds and characters of Greek and Roman soldiers, legislators, orators, and statesmen, by Plutarch.

- Cave of the Nymphs (The), by Porphyry.

- Charon, a dialogue by Lucian.

- Choephoroi (The Libation Bearers) deals with Agamemnon's daughter Electra and his son Orestes. Orestes avenges his father's murder by killing his mother and her lover, by Aeschylus.

- Commentary on Cicero's "Somnium Scipionis" ("The Dream of Scipio") from the De Republica, a Neoplatonic work in two books, by Macrobius.

- Concerning the Gods, an agnostic view about the common belief in the gods, by Protagoras.

- Commentationes Joannis Pici Mirandulae (1495-96), a collection of Pico della Mirandola's works.

- Consolationes, three treatises by Seneca the Younger. Ad Marciam consoles a lady on the loss of a son; Ad Helviam matrem, notes to his mother on his exile; Ad Polybium, the powerful freedman Polybius on the loss of a son but with a sycophantic plea for recall from Corsica.

- Corpus Hermeticum (The), 17 treatises of theological writings by Hermes Trimegistos.

- De Deo Socratis ("On the God of Socrates"), by Apuleius Lucius.

- De differentiis et societatibus Graeci Latinique verbi ("On the Differences and Similarities Between Greek and Latin Words") of which only fragments remain, by Macrobius.

- De ente et uno (Of Being and Unity), a synoptic treatment of Plato and Aristotle, by Pico della Mirandola.

- De fraterno amore by Plutarch, describe the fusion of religious cults that occurred in the Greco-Roman world between 300 and 200 BC.

- De hominis dignitate oratio ("Oration on the Dignity of Man"), a Renaissance work composed in 1486, with the author taking the best elements from other philosophies and combining them in his own work, by Pico della Mirandola.

- De mundo ("On the World") adapts a treatise incorrectly attributed to Aristotle, by Apuleius Lucius.

- De Mysteriis (On the Egyptian Mysteries) by Iamblicus. - De mysteriis Aegyptorium", a defence of ritual magic, by Amblicus, important for occult beliefs and practices of his time.

- De occulta philosophia, an explanation of the world in terms of cabalistic analyses of Hebrew letters and Pythagorean numerology, use of magic as the best means to know God and nature, by Agrippa of Nettesheim.

- De Platone et eius dogmate ("On Plato and His Teaching") which expounds the Platonic notion of demons, beneficent creatures intermediate between gods and mortals, by Apuleius Lucius.

- De viris illustribus ("Concerning Illustrious Men"), a collection of short biographies of celebrated Roman literary figures, by Suetonius.

- De vita Caesarum (Lives of the Caesars), a book with bits of gossip and scandal relating to the lives of the first 11 emperors, by Suetonius.

- Dialogues of the Dead, Satirical philosophy by Lucian.

- Dialogues of the Gods, the discreditable love affairs of Zeus with mortal women play a prominent part in this work, by Lucian.

- Dialogue on Orators, by Tacitus.

- Dionysiaca (Dionysus), a hexameter poem in 48 books; its main subject is the expedition of the god Dionysus to India, by Nonnus of Panapolis.

- Eclogues, a collection of 10 pastoral poems composed between 42 and 37 BC by Virgil.

- Electra (418), by Euripides.

- Elements (The), a concise exposition of Neoplatonic metaphysics in 211 propositions, by Proclus.

- Elements of Physics, distilled the essence of Aristotle's views, by Proclus.

- Enneads (The), lecture notes by Plotinus.

- Enneads, a systematised and edited collection of the works of Plotinus to which was prefixed a biography, unique for its reliability and for the information provided, by Porphyry.

- Epistles, "Love Letters", by Philostratus.

- Epistulae ex Ponto ("Letters from the Black Sea"), a stream of pathetic pleas, chiefly through his wife and friends, to the emperor, by Ovid.

- Exhortation to Philosophy (The), or Protrepticus, by Iamblichus.

- Eumenides describes Orestes driven by the Furies (Erinyes), a matricide to avenge his father's death, is infamous in the eyes of the gods. He is absolved at the court of the Areopagus by the goddess Athena, by Aeschylus.

- Fasti, a poetic calendar describing the various Roman festivals and the legends connected with each, by Ovid.

- Fisher, where hypocritical philosophers are attacked and in which the founders of the philosophical schools return to life to indict the author for writing The Auction of Lives, by Lucian.

- Geographike hyphegesis (Guide to Geography), eight books including information on how to construct maps and lists of places in Europe, Africa, and Asia tabulated according to latitude and longitude, by Ptolemy.

- Georgics (The), composed between 37 and 30 BC (the final period of the civil wars), is a superb plea for the restoration of the traditional agricultural life of Italy, by Virgil.

- Germania, a description of the Germanic tribes, by Tacitus.

- Golden Ass (The) also known as The Metamorphoses of Lucius Apuleius, an allegorical tale of his initiation into the Mysteries, by Apuleus.

- Gymnasticus, a treatise dealing with athletic contests by Philostratus.

- Harmonica, a three-book treatise on music, by Ptolemy.

- Heptaplus (Greek hepta, "seven"), an exposition of Genesis indicating his seven points of argument, by Pico della Mirandola.

- Hepta epi Thebais (Seven Against Thebes) by Aeschylus, 467 BC.

- Hermetica, works of revelation on occult, theological, and philosophical subjects ascribed to the Greek Hermes Trismegistos [Hermes the Thrice-Greatest, the Egyptian god Thoth).

- Heroides (Epistolae Heroidum, Epistles of the Heroines), 21 fictional love letters, mostly from mythological heroines to their lovers, by Ovid.

- Hiketides by Aeschylus, c. 463 BC.

- Hippolytus (428), by Euripides.

- Historiae (Histories), concerning the Roman Empire from Ad 69 to 96, by Tacitus.

- History of Rome, a classic Roman history that exercised a profound influence on the style and philosophy of historical writing down to the 18th century, by Livy of Patavium.

- History (of the Greco-Persian Wars) by Herodotus.

- How to Write History, the author's best work in the field of literary criticism. He stresses the impartiality, detachment, and rigorous devotion to truth that characterize the ideal historian, by Lucian.

- Hymn to Zeus" sets forth the unity, omnipotence, and moral government of the supreme deity by Cleanthes of Assos

- Hypotheseis ton planomenon ("Planetary Hypothesis"), by Ptolemy.

- Hypothetica ("Suppositions"), a defense of the Jews against anti-Semitic charges to which Josephus' treatise Against Apion bears many similarities, by Philo Judaeus.

- Hypotyposes, philosophical treaty republished in 1562 by Sextus.

- Iliad, epic poem by Homer, 9th or 8th century BC.

- Institutio theologica (Elements of Theology), by Proclus.

- Ion (413), by Euripides.

- Iphigenia at Aulis (406), by Euripides.

- Laws (The), was the work of an old man, and the text shows that Plato never lived to give it its final revision, by Plato.

- Life of Pythagoras (the) or "On the Pythagorean Life", by Iamblichus.

- Life of the Pythagorean philosopher Apollonius of Tyana by Philostratus.

- Lifes of the Philosophers and Sophists by Eunapius.

- Litterae curiosius scriptae ("letters written with special care") was a fashion among the wealthy, and the author developed it into a miniature art form, by Pliny the Younger.

- Medea, a tragedy highly praised by ancient critics by

- Medea (431 BC), by Euripides.

- Medicamina faciei ("Cosmetics"), by Ovid.

- "Metamorphoses", 15 books about the transformations recorded in mythology and legend from the creation of the world to the time of Roman emperor Julius Caesar by Ovid.

- Misopogon ("Beard Hater"), a pamphlet that assailed the Antiochenes for the ridicule that they poured on the author for his personal conduct, his religion, and his claim to be a philosopher on the strength of his beard, by Julian the Apostate.

- Moralia, or Ethica, about 60 essays on ethical, religious, physical, political, and literary topics, by Plutarch.

- Natural History, an encyclopaedic work that was an authority on scientific matters up to the Middle Ages, by Pliny the Elder.

- Nigrinus, philosophical work by Lucian.

- Odyssey, epic poem by Homer, 9th or 8th century BC.

- On nature (Peri physeos), explanation of universe and negation of immortal soul, by Empedocles.

- Of the Vanitie and uncertainties of arts and sciences, an attack on occultism and all other sciences, by Agrippa of Nettesheim (about 1530).

- On Abstinence, a plea for vegetarianism, by Porphyry.

- On Alexander, extant in Armenian, concerning the irrational souls of animals, by Philo Judaeus.

- On Nature, the author implies that the multiplicity of existing things, their changing forms and motion, are but an appearance of a single eternal reality ("Being"), thus giving rise to the Parmenidean principle that "all is one", by Parmenides.

- On Providence, extant in Armenian, a dialogue between Philo, who argues that God is providential in his concern for the world, by Philo Judaeus. - On Signs, by John Lydus, a Byzantine bureaucrat of the 6th century.

- On the Arithmetic of Nicomachus, by Iamblichus.

- On the Contemplative Life, describes the author's renewed pain at being forced once again to participate in civic turmoil, by Philo Judaeus.

- On the Creation of the World, by Philo Judaeus.

- On the Embassy to Gaius, an attack on the Emperor Caligula (Gaius) for his hostility toward the Alexandrian Jews and an account of the unsuccessful embassy to the Emperor headed by the author, by Philo Judaeus.

- On the Eternity of the World, proving, particularly in opposition to the Stoics, that the world is uncreated and indestructible, by Philo Judaeus.

- On the General Science of Mathematics, by Iamblichus.

- On the Special Laws, the author describes his longing to escape from worldly cares to the contemplative life, his joy at having succeeded in doing so, by Philo Judaeus.

- Optica, the original edition consisted of five books. The last book deals with a theory of refraction, and discusses the refraction suffered by light from celestial bodies at various altitudes, by Ptolemy.

- Oresteia, a trilogy of tragic dramas by the Aeschylus, first performed in 458 BC. Include Agamennon, Choephoroi and Eumenides.

- Outlines of Pyrrhonism by Sextus.

- Periegesis Hellados (Description of Greece), an invaluable guide to ancient ruins, written in the 2d century AD by the Greek traveller and Geographer, Pausanias.

- Peri Psyches", about the soul, by Iamblicus…

- Peri ropon ("On Balancing"), a book on mechanics, by Ptolemy.

- Persai (Persians) by Aeschylus, 472BC

- Planisphaerium, concerned with stereographic projection -the delineation of the forms of solid bodies on a plane- where the author used the south celestial pole as his centre of projection, by Ptolemy.

- Platonis theologiam (Platonic Theology) explains Plato's metaphysics, by Proclus.

- Prometheus desmotes (Prometheus Bound), by Aeschylus.

- Purifications (Katharmoi), fewer than 100 verses remain from his poem dealing with metempsychosis, by Empedocles.

- Remedia amoris (Remedies for Love), reflecting the brilliant, sophisticated, pleasure-seeking society, in which he moved, by Ovid.

- Republic (The), which described an anarchist utopia in which men lived "natural" lives, by Diogenes (non extant).

- Republic (The), by Plato.

- Saturnalia (The), give an imaginary account of discussions in private houses on the day before the Saturnalia and on three days of that festival, by Macrobius.

- Seventh Letter (The), by Plato.

- Sophist, by Plato.

- Statesman The), by Plato.

- Tabula Smaragdina ["Emerald Tablet"], a favourite source for medieval alchemists), and magic, by Hermes Trismegistus.

- Teacher of Orators, ironical advice on how to become a successful orator by means of claptrap and impudence, by Lucian.

- That Every Good Man Is Free, proving the Stoic paradox that only the wise man is free, by Philio Judaeus.

- Theaetetus, by Plato.

- Theogeny, describes the origin of the myths and the gods of Greek mythology, by Hesiod.

- Theological Principles of Arithmetic, by Iamblicus.

- Timaeus, a Pythagorian treatise by Plato.

- Timon Lucian recounts how Timon, after impoverishing himself by his generosity and becoming a hermit, is restored to wealth, once again to be surrounded by toadies to whom he gives short shrift, by Lucian.

- Tragic Zeus, the leader of the gods is powerless to intervene on earth and prove his omnipotence to coldly sceptical Cynic and Epicurean philosophers, by Lucian.

- Transformations of Lucius (The), relates the myth of Eros and Psyche, by Lucius Apuleius.

- Tristia (Sorrows) describes the main events of the author's life in an autobiographical poem, by Ovid.

- Trojan Women (415), by Euripides. - True Doctrine (The), a critic of emerging Christianity, survives as quotations in the work of Origen, by Celsus.

- True History, imaginary voyage and satirical parody of travellers' tales by Lucian.

- Works and Days, a description of peasant life, by Hesiod (about 700 BC).

- Zeus Confuted, by Lucian.

2- Gnostic Books

- Acts of John

- Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles (The), Nag Hammadi.

- Acts of Thomas.

- Alexandria quartet by Lawrence Durell.

- Allogenes, Nag Hammadi

- Analemma (Greek Peri analemmatos; Latin De analemmate), analyses the details of the projection of points on the celestial sphere onto three planes at right angles to each other -the horizon, the meridian, and the prime vertical, by Ptolemy.

- Antitheses, by Marcion.

- Apocalypse of Adam (The), Nag Hammadi, about 120-130 AD

- Apocalypse of James (The), Nag Hammadi, about 120-130 AD

- Apocalypse of James (The First), Nag Hammadi

- Apocalypse of James (The Second), Nag Hammadi

- Apocalypse of Paul (The), Nag Hammadi

- Apocalypse of Peter (The), Nag Hammadi

- Apocryphon of James (The), Nag Hammadi, about 120-130 AD

- Apocryphon of John (The), about 100 AD, Nag Hammadi

- Apostolic Tradition (The) (extant only in later versions), the Church order that illuminates the rites and liturgies in use at Rome in the early 3rd century AD is now generally attributed to Hippolytus of Rome.

- Asclepius (or Asklepios), Nag Hammadi.

- Askew Codex (The), Gnostic Christian texts written probably in the 2d century AD.

- At the Hawk's Well (first performed 1916), by Yeats.

- Auguries of Innocence, by William Blake.

- Authoritative Teaching, Nag Hammadi.

- A Vision (1925, revised version 1937), the author explains his own philosophy, by Yeats.

- Baptism of Hibil Ziwa (The), describing the purification of the heavenly saviour of the Mandaeans.

- Book of Adam (The) or the Ginza, a cosmological treatise.

- Book of Ieou.

- Books of Jeu, a work attributed to Enoch. Identified in 1905.

- Book of John (The), describing the activities of John the Baptist.

- Book of the Great Logos (The).

- Book of the Logos (The).

- Book of the Saviour (The).

- Book of the Zodiac (The), a collection of magical and astrological texts.

- Book of Thomas the Contender (The), Nag Hammadi

- Book of Urizen, by William Blake, 1793.

- Candide), a story by Voltaire.

- Cathleen ni Houlihan, a play by Yeats.

- Celtic Twilight (The) (1893), a volume of essays, by Yeats.

- Chronicle of Edessa (The).

- Concept of Our Great Power (The), Nag Hammadi

- Contradictions by Marcion.

- Corpus Hermeticum I (Poimandres), about 150 AD

- Corpus Hermeticum (written between the 2d and 4th century).

- Countess Cathleen (The), a play by Yeats.

- Deirdre (1907), by Yeats.

- Dialogue of Destiny, or The Book of the Laws of the Countries, the oldest known original composition in Syriac literature by Bardesanes.

- Dialogue of the Saviour (The), Nag Hammadi.

- Dialogue (or Discourse) of the Eighth and Ninth (The), Nag Hammadi.

- Diatessaron (Greek: "From Four," or "Out of Four"), a version of the four Gospels arranged in a single continuous narrative that, in its Syriac form, served the biblical-theological vocabulary of the Syrian church for centuries. Its Greek and Latin versions influenced the Gospel text, by Tatian.

- Eugnostos the Blessed, Nag Hammadi.

- Excerpta ex Theodoto ("Extracts from Theodotus"), a scrapbook by Theodotus the Gnostic that the 2nd-3rd-century Christian philosophical theologian Clement of Alexandria added to his Stromata ("Miscellanies").

- Exegesis of the Soul (Nag Hammadi), about 120-130 AD.

- Falkner (1837), a roman by Mary Shelley.

- First Apocalypse of James (The).

- Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck (The) (1830), a roman by Mary Shelley.

- Four Plays for Dancers (1921), by Yeats.

- Four Zoas by William Blake, about 1800.

- Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818), narrates the dreadful consequences that arise after a scientist has artificially created a human being, by Mary Shelley.

- Gnostic Centuries, emphasized that the essential function of spiritual beings is to experience union with God, the transcendent One, expressed as pure light, by Evagrius.

- Gospel (The), in which the author removed what he regarded as interpolations from the Gospel According to Luke, by Marcion.

- Gospel According to Mary (The).

- Gospel of the Ebionites (The).

- Gospel of the Egyptians (The), Nag Hammadi.

- Gospel of Judas (The), a Cainite text.

- Gospel of Paul (The), Marcionite gospel, no copy found.

- Gospel of Peter is a pseudepigraphal, noncanonical and unauthentic, Christian writing of the mid-2nd century AD, which covers the condemnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Jesus. As the work reflects the view that Christ's body had only the appearance of reality, Serapion, bishop of Antioch, believed it was written by a member of the heretical Docetist sect. Modern scholars attribute it to a Syrian Christian Gnostic because the Gospel does not view the Crucifixion as an act of atonement. It lacks the mythological or cosmological speculations characteristic of most Gnostic sects. Possibly to convince non-Christians of the truth of the Resurrection, the Gospel of Peter goes beyond the canonical Gospels in claiming that Roman soldiers and Jewish officials witnessed the event.

- Gospel of Philip (The), Nag Hammadi.

- Gospel of the Nazarenes (The).

- Gospel of the Twelve Apostles (The).

- Gospel of Thomas (The), An Apocryphal Gospel found in 1945 near Nag Hammadi in Egypt. It is believed that it was written about 120-130 AD. It is ascribed to the Apostle Thomas and contains 114 alleged sayings of Jesus, some unrecorded in the canonical Gospels.

- Gospel of Truth (The), Nag Hammadi. Could have been written by Valentinus.

- Green Helmet (The) (1910), by Yeats.

- He mathematike syntaxis ("The Mathematical Collection"), which later became known as Ho megas astronomos ("The Great Astronomer") and finally as the Almagest, the name still used today, by Ptolemy.

- Herne's Egg (The), the author most raucous work, in 1938, by Yeats.

- Histoire de Charles XII (1731), history, by Voltaire.

- Histoire de l'Empire de Russie sous Pierre le Grand (1759-63), by Voltaire.

- History of a Six Weeks' Tour (1817) a travel book that recounts the continental tour that the author and Shelley took in 1814 following their elopement and then recounts their summer near Geneva in 1816, by Mary Shelley.

- Hour Glass (The) (1903), by Yeats. - Hymn of the Pearl (also known as Hymn of the Robe of Glory), by Bardesanes.

- Hypsiphrone, Nag Hammadi

- In the Seven Woods (1903), by Yeats.

- Interpretation of Knowledge (The), Nag Hammadi

- Jeannot et Colin (1764), a story by Voltaire.

- Jerusalem, Epic Poem by William Blake, 1804.

- Jesus and the Goddess by Thimothy Frreke and Peter Gandy, 2001.

- Jesus Mysteries (The), Thimothy Freke and Peter Gandy.

- Kephalaia, collection of discourses of Mani with his disciples.

- King's Threshold (The) (1904), by Yeats. - Land of Heart's Desire (The) (1894), by Yeats.

- La Princesse de Babylone (1768), a story by Voltaire.

- Last Man (The), 1826, an account of the future destruction of the human race by a plague, ranked as Mary Shelley best novel.

- Last Poems, by Yeats.

- Le Blanc et le noir (1764, a story by Voltaire.

- Les Voyages du baron de Gangan (1739, a story by Voltaire.

- Le Taureau blanc (1774), a story by Voltaire.

- Le Siècle de Louis XIV (1751), history, by Voltaire. - Letter of Peter to Philip (The), Nag Hammadi.

- Lodore (1835), a roman by Mary Shelley.

- Marsanes, Nag Hammadi.

- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor.

- Melchizedek, Nag Hammadi.

- Milton, by William Blake.

- Monachikos ("The Monastic Life"), a treatise, by Evagrius.

- Monsieur by Lawrence Durell.

- Mystery of the Great Logos found in the Codex Brucianus discovered in Egypt by James Bruce

- Naassene Psalm attributed by Hippolytus to the Phrygians.

- Nature (Hypostatis) of the Archons (The) or "Reality of the Rulers", Nag Hammadi, 120-130 AD.

- Nausea by Jean Paul Sartre.

- New Poems, by Yeats.

- On Animals, a treaty that shows that man without the divine spark is comparable to animals, by Tatian.

- On Baile's Strand (1905), by Yeats.

- On Justice by Epiphanes, condemn property and social authority and declares that all people, free or slaves, have the same divine rights.

- "On the Eight Principal Vices," by Evagrius.

- On the Origin of the World, Nag Hammadi.

- On the pythagorian Symbols by Alexander states that Pythagoras was a pupil of "Nazaratus the Assyrien.

- On the Three Natures by Valentinus.

- Oration against the Greeks, an attack on the Greco-Roman culture, by Tatian.

- Oxford Book of Modern Verse, 1892-1935, a gathering of the poems loved by the author, by Yeats.

- Paraphrase of Shem (The), Nag Hammadi.

- Pistis Sophia (Faith Wisdom), 4th or 5th century AD.

- Poems (1895), by Yeats. - Prayers of Thanksgiving, Nag Hammadi.

- Prayer of the Apostle Paul, Nag Hammadi.

- Précis du siècle de Louis XV (1768), by Voltaire.

- Psychology of Religions East and West (The), by Carl Yung.

- Responsibilities: Poems and a Play (1914), by Yeats.

- Revelations of the Prophetess Philumene by Apelles.

- Second coming (The) by W.B. Yeats.

- Second Treatise to the Great Seth (The), Nag Hammadi

- Secret Book of John.

- Secret Gospel of Mark (The).

- Sentences of Sextus (The), Nag Hammadi.

- Shepherd, a well known early Christian writing that is one of the works representing the Apostolic Fathers, Greek Christian writers of the late 1st and early 2nd centuries, by Hermas.

- Songs of Experience (1794) by William Blake.

- Songs of Innocence (1789) by William Blake.

- Song of Los, ended the experimental period of William Blake poetic career.

- Sophia of Jesus Christ (The) Nag Hammadi, about 120-130 AD.

- Syllogisms, by Apelles in which he shows the untruths of the Books of Moses.

- Teachings of Silvanus (the), Nag Hammadi.

- Testimony of Truth (The), Nag Hammadi.

- The Two Genies, 1895), a story by Voltaire.

- Three Steles of Seth (The), Nag Hammadi.

- Thought of Norea (The), Nag Hammadi.

- Thunder (The): Perfect Mind, Nag Hammadi.

- Tower (The) (1928), named after the castle the author owned and had restored, it is the work of a fully accomplished artist; in it, the experience of a lifetime is brought to perfection of form, by Yeats.

- Treatise on the Resurrection (The), Nag Hammadi.

- Trimorphic Protennoia, Nag Hammadi.

- Tripartite Tractate (The), Nag Hammadi, probably by Heracleon.

- Two Plays, by Yeats.

- Vala by William Blake, about 1800.

- Valentinian Exposition (A), Nag Hammadi.

- Valperga (1823), a roman by Mary Shelley.

- Vision de Babouc (1748), a story by Voltaire.

- Wanderings of Oisin (The), and Other Poems (1889), the work of an aesthete, often beautiful but always rarefied, a soul's cry for release from circumstance, by Yeats.

- Wandlungen und Symbole der Libido (Psychology of the Unconscious, 1916) ran counter to many of Freud's ideas, by Carl Yung.

- Wild Swans at Coole (The), by Yeats. - Wind Among the Reeds (The) (1899), by Yeats. - Zadig (1747), a story by Voltaire.

- Winding Stair (The) (1929), their dominant subjects and symbols are the Easter Rising and the Irish civil war, by Yeats.

- Zostrianos, Nag Hammadi.

3- Christian Literalist Books

A- Old Testament

B- New Testament

B.1 The four Gospels

The word Gospel refers to any of four biblical narratives covering the life and death of Jesus Christ. Written, according to tradition, respectively by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (the four evangelists), they are placed at the beginning of the New Testament. The word gospel means "good news" or "good telling." Since the late 18th century the first three have been called the Synoptic Gospels, because they present a similar treatment of the life and death of Jesus Christ.

- Gospel of St. Matthew (The) is the first of the four New Testament Gospels, and, with Mark and Luke, one of the three so-called Synoptic Gospels. It has traditionally been attributed to Matthew, one of the 12 Apostles, described in the text as a tax collector. The Gospel was composed in Greek, sometime after AD 70, and based on the earlier Gospel According to Mark. There has been many suggestions about an earlier version in Aramaic. The author was most probably a Jewish Christian writing for similar Christians. The Gospel emphasizes Christ's fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies and his role as a new lawgiver whose divine mission was confirmed by repeated miracles. After tracing the genealogy of Jesus back to Abraham, the evangelist mentions certain details related to the infancy of Christ that are not elsewhere recorded; e.g., Joseph's perplexity on learning that Mary is pregnant, the homage of the Wise Men, the flight into Egypt to escape Herod's soldiers, the massacre of the innocents, and the return of the holy family from Egypt. Matthew then describes the preaching of John the Baptist, the call of the Apostles, and major events in the public ministry of Jesus. The final section describes the betrayal, Crucifixion, burial, and Resurrection of Christ. One passage, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" (16:18), has become the basis of Roman Catholic belief in the divine institution of the papacy.

- Gospel of St. Mark (The), also called The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to St. Mark, is the second of the four New Testament Gospels, and, with Matthew and Luke, one of the three Synoptic Gospels. It is attributed to John Mark, an associate of Paul and a disciple of Peter, whose teachings the Gospel may reflect. It is the shortest and the earliest of the four Gospels, presumably written during the decade preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. More than 90 percent of the content of Mark's Gospel appears in Matthew's, and more than 50 percent in the Gospel of Luke. It is simple and direct and, as the earliest Gospel, it is the primary source of information about the ministry of Jesus. Mark's explanations of Jewish customs and his translations of Aramaic expressions suggest that he was writing for Gentile converts. After an introduction (1:1-13), the Gospel describes Jesus' ministry in and around Galilee (1:14-8:26); his journey to Jerusalem (11-13); the Passion (14-15); and the Resurrection (16). Mark's Gospel stresses the deeds, strength, and determination of Jesus in overcoming evil forces and defying the power of imperial Rome. Mark also emphasizes the Passion, predicting it as early as chapter 8 and devoting the final third of his Gospel (11-16) to the last week of Jesus' life. Mark stresses that Jesus as reluctant to reveal himself as the Messiah only calling himself the Son of Man. While acknowledging Peter's declaration that Jesus is the Christ, he cautions his followers not to tell anyone about him.

- Gospel of St. Luke (The) is the third of the four New Testament Gospels, and, with Mark and Matthew, one of the three Synoptic Gospels. It is traditionally credited to Luke, "the beloved physician", a close associate of the Apostle Paul. Luke's Gospel is clearly written for Gentile converts: it traces Christ's genealogy back to Adam, the "father" of the human race, rather than to Abraham, the father of the Jewish people. The date and place of composition are uncertain; many date the Gospel to AD 63-70, others later. Like Matthew, Luke derives much of his Gospel from that of Mark but they share a good deal of material not found in Mark, suggesting another common source. Luke's narrative also contains much that is unique. It gives details of Jesus' infancy found in no other Gospel: the census of Caesar Augustus, the journey to Bethlehem, Jesus' birth, the adoration of the shepherds, Jesus' circumcision, the words of Simeon, and Jesus at age 12 in the temple talking with the doctors of the Law. It also is the only Gospel to give an account of the Ascension. Among the notable parables found only in Luke's Gospel are those of the Good Samaritan and the prodigal son. Luke, and its companion book, Acts of the Apostles, portrays the church as God's instrument of redemption on Earth in the interim between the death of Christ and the Second Coming. The two books combined provide the first Christian history, outlining God's purpose through three historical epochs: the epoch of the Law and the prophets, which lasted from ancient Israel to the time of John the Baptist; the epoch of Jesus' ministry; and the epoch of the church's mission, from the Ascension to the return of Christ.

- Gospel of St. John (The). The actual identity of the author, its place of composition, and date are unknown; many scholars suggest that it was written at Ephesus, Asia Minor, in about AD 100 for the purpose of communicating the truths about Christ to Christians of Hellenistic background. Its language and its theology suggest that the author may have lived later than John and based his writing on John's teachings and testimonies. Several episodes in the life of Jesus are recounted out of sequence with the Synoptic, and the final chapter appears to be a later addition, suggest that the text may be a composite. John's Gospel differs from the Synoptic Gospels: it covers a different time span than the others; it locates much of Jesus' ministry in Judea; it portrays Jesus discoursing at length on theological matters; it does not record many of the symbolic acts of Jesus; it includes certain episodes in order that his readers may understand and share in the mystical union of Christ's church, that they "may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, if believing, they may have life in his name". The author begins his account as in Genesis ("In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."). The author adds interpretative comments to clarify Jesus' motives. In the narration of certain miracles, for example, the feeding of the 5,000, John's version is explained as symbolic of a deeper spiritual truth ("I am the bread of life; . . ."). Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus openly presents himself as the divine Son of God, not hiding his identity as he does in Mark. Because of its special theological character, the Gospel According to John was considered in ancient times to be the "spiritual Gospel," and it had a profound and lasting influence on the development of early Christian doctrine.

C- Acts of the Apostles, book of the New Testament traditionally attributed to St. Luke. It describes the story of the early Church and the career of St.Paul.

D- The Epistles of Saint Paul

- Romans (Letter of Paul to the) is the longest and doctrinally most significant of St. Paul the Apostle's New Testament writings, probably composed at Corinth in about AD 57. It was addressed to the Christian Church at Rome, whose congregation Paul hoped to visit for the first time on his way to Spain. Paul's lengthy presentation is more a treatise than a letter but falls far short of a complete survey of his theology; there is no discussion, for example, of the Eucharist, the Resurrection, or eschatology. Paul declares that God's righteousness has always been manifest in his dealings with men. The Apostle notes with pride the unique religious heritage of the Jewish people: the Covenant, the Law, the patriarchs, and Christ himself. Paul also cautions his readers that righteousness is not a license to sin. The letter contains several specific exhortations, such as to repay evil with good, to support and love one another, and to be obedient to civil rulers.

- 1 Corinthians: This Epistle to the Corinthians was addressed by St.Paul to the Christian Community at the Roman colony of Corinth in Achaea, Greece. It was written from Ephesus between AD 52 and 55.

- 2 Corinthians: This Epistle to the Corinthians was addressed by St.Paul to the Christian Community at the Roman colony of Corinth in Achaea, Greece. It was written from Macedonia again between 52 and 55 AD.

- Galatians, The Letter of Paul to, is also called "The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Galatians". It is a New Testament writing addressed to Christian churches; the Jewish faction within the early Christian church rejected it because they believed that Christian converts were obliged to observe circumcision and other prescriptions of the Mosaic Law whereas Paul said the contrary. In the letter Paul reaffirms that the Mosaic Law is obsolete and that a return to Jewish practices would be regressive. The date of the letter is unknown.

- Ephesians (Letter of Paul to the) is a New Testament writing once attributed to Paul while in prison, but now believed to be written by one of Paul's disciples before AD 90, on the base of Paul's letter to the Colossians. The letter declares that the Christian mystery of salvation is the source of true wisdom and that salvation through Christ is offered to Jews and Gentiles alike. The writer affirms that there is but "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all", who united all things in Christ, through whose death all men are redeemed. The author exhorts his readers, parents and children, masters and slaves, to lead exemplary Christian lives and to resist the wiles of the devil.

- Philippians (Letter of Paul to) is a New Testament letter written by Paul the Apostle, while he was in prison probably at Rome about AD 62, and addressed to his Christian congregation in Macedonia. Fearful that he would soon be executed, but hoping to visit the Philippians again, Paul explains that he was imprisoned for preaching the gospel of Christ. Though he welcomes death for Jesus' sake, he would like to continue his apostolate. Paul exhorts his readers to remain firm in their faith and to imitate the humility of Christ. Paul also asks the Philippians to work out their "own salvation with fear and trembling".

- Colossians (The Letter of Paul to the), also called The Epistle of St. Paul The Apostle To The Colossians, is a New Testament writing addressed to Christians at Colossae, Asia Minor, a congregation founded by Paul's colleague Epaphras. The theology of the letter indicates that Paul composed it in Rome about AD 62, although some question Pauline authorship on the basis of vocabulary. The Colossians' views and practices were incompatible with the Christian doctrine. The author condemns these practices by recalling the pre-eminence of Christ in everything, because he is "the image of the invisible God" (1:15), who reconciled man to God "by the blood of his cross" (1:20). Paul then exhorts the Christian community to put away anger, malice, and foul talk and to show kindness, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and love in imitation of Christ.

- 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians (Letters of Paul to the Thessalonians) are two New Testament letters written by Paul from Corinth, Greece, about AD 50 and addressed to the Christian community he founded in Macedonia. The first letter, written after Timothy, his co-worker, returned from Thessalonia, reports that the new converts had stood fast in the Lord despite persecution. In answer to a question that disturbed the community, Paul explained that everyone, both the living and the dead, will share Christ's Resurrection at the time of his Second Coming. The second letter was written shortly after the first, but Paul's authorship is not certain because of the ambiguity about the date of Christ's Second Coming. Christians apparently believed that working was useless because the end of the world was close at hand. The letter explains that the final day will not arrive until after the Antichrist appears and proclaims himself God. Christians must consequently continue "to earn their own living".

- 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy (The Letters of Paul to) are also called The Epistle of St. Paul The Apostle To Timothy, or Pastoral Epistle. These two New Testament writings, addressed to Timothy, one of Paul's most faithful co-workers together with the Letter of Paul to Titus, have been called Pastoral Epistles, because they deal mainly with church administration and the growth of heresies. Roman Catholic exegetes still hold that Paul was the author whereas Protestant exegetes are doubtful, as the style is different from Paul's normal way of expressing himself. The First Letter of Paul to Timothy insists on the need to avoid unorthodox teachings and dangerous speculations and repeats the qualities expected of bishops and deacons. It exhorts Timothy to fulfil his duties faithfully and to instil in his congregation traditional beliefs, notions of proper conduct, and respect for one another. The Second Letter similarly asks Timothy to "guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit" and to accept his share of suffering "as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." He is also admonished to "have nothing to do with stupid, senseless controversies" and to avoid "men of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith."

- Titus (The Letter of Paul to), also called The Epistle of St. Paul The Apostle To Titus, is a New Testament writing addressed to one of Paul's close companions, Titus, who was the organizer of the churches in Crete. With the two letters of Paul to Timothy, they have been called Pastoral Letters because they deal principally with heresies and church discipline. The letter urges Titus to appoint worthy elders to positions of responsibility, to preach sound doctrine, and to exemplify in his own life the virtues that are expected of all Christians. It warns against the disruptive influence of "Jewish myths," especially those put forward by the "circumcision party." Paul's authorship is often put in doubt.

- Philemon (The Letter of Paul to), also called The Epistle of Saint Paul The Apostle To Philemon, is a brief New Testament letter written by Paul the Apostle probably about 61 AD to a wealthy Christian of Colossae, Asia Minor, on behalf of Onesimus, Philemon's former slave. Paul, writing from prison, expresses affection for the newly converted Onesimus and asks that he be received in the same spirit that would mark Paul's own arrival, even though Onesimus may be guilty of previous failings. While passing no judgment on slavery, Paul exhorts Philemon to manifest true Christian love that removes barriers between slaves and free men.

E- The Non-Pauline Epistles

- Hebrews, Letter to, is a New Testament letter attributed to Paul but now believed to be the work of a Jewish Christian, perhaps one of Paul's associates. The letter was composed during the latter half of the 1st century. The letter was addressed to a Christian community who was loosing faith because of strong Jewish influences. Against this, the author describes the perfect priesthood of Christ, who, unlike the Jewish high priest, offered but one sacrifice as God's own Son, thereby redeeming all of mankind. The Jewish high priest, by contrast, was a temporary appointee whose imperfect sacrifice had to be repeated over and over. The author concludes that Christianity is superior to Judaism.

- James, The Letter of, also called "The Epistle of St. James the Apostle", is a New Testament writing addressed to the early Christian churches ("to the twelve tribes in the dispersion") and attributed to James, a Christian Jew, whose identity is disputed. The date of composition is unknown. The letter is moralistic rather than dogmatic and reflects early Jewish Christianity. The writer covers such topics as endurance under persecution, poverty and wealth, control of the tongue, care for orphans and widows, cursing, boasting, oaths, and prayer.

- 1 Peter and 2 Peter (Letters of) are two New Testament writings attributed to the Apostle Peter, but in fact the authors are unknown. The first letter is addressed to persecuted Christians living in five regions of Asia Minor; it tells the people to emulate the suffering Christ in their distress, remembering that after his Passion and death Jesus rose from the dead and is now in glory. The Christians are urged to repay evil with goodness and to love one another and are cautioned to safeguard their reputation as good citizens of high morality. The second letter is concerned with the Second Coming of Christ. The author attributes the apparent delay to God's patience in allowing time for universal redemption and notes that in the sight of God 1,000 years are like one day. The writer also warns against false teachers, whose conduct is as immoral as their words are deceptive.

- 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John are three New Testament writings composed around AD 100 and traditionally attributed to John the Evangelist, son of Zebedee and disciple of Jesus. The first letter's author is unknown, but the writer of the second and third calls himself "presbyter" (elder). The language and contents of the three letters suggest a common source. The first letter was addressed to churches where "false prophets," denounced as Antichrist, denied the incarnation of Jesus and caused secession. Christians are exhorted to persevere in leading a moral life, which meant imitating Christ by keeping the Commandments, especially that of loving one another. The second and third letters are similar to the first in language and ideas. The second exhorts a church to boycott heretics who deny the reality of the incarnation. The third letter is addressed to a certain Gaius and complains that "Diotrephes, who lies to put himself first, does not acknowledge my authority".

- Jude (Letter of) is a brief New Testament letter written in the first quarter of the 2d century AD to a general Christian audience by "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James" but whose real identity is unknown. The letter asks the Christians to "contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" and to be careful of "ungodly persons who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ." The cultivated Greek style is obvious in the numerous figures of speech and references to both the Old and New Testaments and to other sources. References to apocryphal literature has led to a 3rd-century dispute about the letter's authenticity, but its canonical status in the early church is well attested.

F- The Revelations of St.John the Divine

- Revelation to John, also called Book of Revelation and Apocalypse of John, is the last book of the New Testament. It is the only book of the New Testament classified as apocalyptic literature, rather than didactic or historical, indicating thereby its extensive use of visions, symbols, and allegory, especially in connection with future events. Revelation to John is a collection of separate units composed by unknown authors who lived during the last quarter of the 1st century, even if it is attributed to John, "the beloved disciple" of Jesus, at Patmos, in the Aegean Sea. The book comprises two main parts: the first (chapters 2-3) contains moral admonitions in individual letters addressed to the seven Christian churches of Asia Minor. In the second part (chapters 4-22:5), visions, allegories, and symbols fill the text and exegetes differ in their interpretations. Christians are exhorted to remain firm in their faith and to keep hope that God will ultimately be victorious over his, and their, enemies. This view refers to current problems in an eschatological context, but the message of Revelation is also relevant to future generations of Christians who, too, will suffer persecution. The victory of God over Satan typifies similar victories over evil in ages still to come and God's final victory at the end of time.

G- Q Gospel.

Q is an abbreviation of the German word "Quelle" meaning "Source". It describes a Gospel that has been extracted from the common material (source) found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke but that do not appear in the Gospel of Mark.

H- Apocrypha

- Gospel of the Hebrews (The), a book of the New Testament Apocrypha. It was probably written in Egypt in the second century AD. It reflects Jewish Christianity and is known mainly from quotations by contemporary and later Christian writers.

I Apocalyptic Literature

This is a literary genre that flourished from about 200 BC to about AD 200, especially in Judaism and Christianity. Written primarily to give hope to religious groups undergoing persecution or the stress of cultural upheavals, apocalypses (from the Greek apokalypsis: "revelation") describe in cryptic language, understood by believers, the sudden, dramatic intervention of God in history on behalf of the faithful elect. Accompanying or heralding God's dramatic intervention in human affairs will be cataclysmic events of cosmic proportions, such as a temporary rule of the world by Satan, signs in the heavens, persecutions, wars, famines, and plagues. These writers generally concentrated on the future, for instance the future overthrow of evil, on the coming of a messianic figure, and on the establishment of the Kingdom of God and of eternal peace and righteousness. The wicked are described as consigned to hell and the righteous or elect as reigning with God or a messiah in a renewed earth or heaven. The Revelation to John in the New Testament represent apocalyptic writing, and several inter-testamental books contain apocalyptic themes.

- Apocalypse of Peter, also called Revelation to Peter, is a pseudepigraphal, non-canonical and unauthentic, Christian writing dating from the first half of the 2nd century AD. The unknown author, who claimed to be Peter the Apostle, relied on the canonical Gospels and on Revelation to John to construct a conversation between himself and Jesus regarding events at the end of the world. Unlike Revelation to John the Apocalypse of Peter dwells on eternal rewards and punishments. The graphic account of the torments to be borne by sinful men was apparently borrowed from Orphic and Pythagorean religious texts, thereby introducing pagan ideas of heaven and hell into Christian literature.

J- Various Writings

- Acts of Barnabas, an apocryphal work of late date, recounts the missionary tours and the death by martyrdom of Barnabas in Cyprus, by Barnabas.

- Ad martyras ("To the Martyrs"), by Tertullian.

- Ad nationes ("To the Nations"), by Tertullian.

- Ad objectiones Gallorum calumniantium ("To the Objections of the Gallic Calumniators"), a reply to the general attack on Augustine by Prosper of Aquitaine.

- Ad uxorem, a gentle and sensitive treatise to his wife, by Tertullian.

- Adversus Hermogenem ("Against Hermogenes," a Carthaginian painter who claimed that God created the world out of pre-existing matter), by Tertullian.

- Adversus Jovinianum (393), a polemical diatribe against the monk Jovinian who asserted the equality of virginity and marriage, brilliant but needlessly crude, influenced by Tertullian writings unnecessarily harsh toward marriage.

- Adversus Marcionem ("Against Marcion," an Anatolian heretic who believed that the world was created by the evil god of the Jews), by Tertullian.

- Adversus Nationes (about 303 AD) by Arnobius (seven books: books 1 and 2, defence of Christianity from Pagan calumnies; books 3, 4 and 5, attack against Neoplatonism, anthropomorphism and heathen mythology; books 6 and 7, worship of images, temples and ceremonials)

- Adversus Valentinianos ("Against Valentinus," an Alexandrian Gnostic, or religious dualist), by Tertullian.

- Aeterne rerum Conditor" ("Framer of the earth and sky"), by Ambrose.

- Against Images, three works, by Epiphanius.

- Against the Schism of the Donatists, an important source for the history of the Donatists, by Optatus.

- Ancoratus, a polemic against Origen by Epiphanius.

- Apocriticus or, better, "Apokritikos e monogenes pros Hellenas" ("Response of the Only-Begotten to the Greeks"). Its doctrine is derived from the Cappadocian school. The critic questions biblical texts, particularly concerning Christ's Incarnation and Resurrection.

- Apokritikos e monogenes pros Hellenas, 5 books (Response of the Only-Begotten to the Greeks), commonly called the Apocriticus, a theological defence of Christianity, based on a doctrine derived from the Cappadocian school, by Macarius Magnes.

- Apologeticus (197?), by Tertullian

- Apologia to Pope Anastasius, the author's orthodoxy was questioned, and he was obliged to write an apology to the Pope who had summoned him to Rome, by Rufinus Tyrranius.

- Apologies for the Christians by Justin Martyr (two books).

- Apology for the Christian faith, a discussion of the harmony in creation, also a correlation with the Divine Being responsible for the creation and preservation of the universe, by Aristides.

- Apology for Origen, five books now lost, by Pamphilus.

- Apophthegmata patrum, writings and discourses of Saint Anthony, edited by Athanasius.

- Apotheosis, directed against disclaimers of the Trinity and the divinity of Christ, on incarnation, by Prudentius.

- Autoritative Teaching.

- Bazaar of Heracleides", an apology, by Nestorius.

- Book of Divine Consolation (The) (1308?), by Eckhart.

- Book of Heraclides of Damascus, intended as a defence of the author's teaching and a history of his life, by Nestorius.

- Book of observances, rules for monks, by Pachomius.

- Canonical Epistle (c. 256) contains valuable data on Eastern Church discipline in the 3rd-century, resolving moral questions incident to the Gothic invasion of Pontus, by Gregory Thaumaturgus.

- Carmen de Ingratis, a poem on hexameters describing ideas on grace by Prosper of Aquitaine.

- Carmen de se ipso, "Song Concerning One-self", autobiographical poem, by Gregory of Nazianzus.

- Catecheses, a collection of 23 catechetical lectures delivered to candidates for Baptism, by Cyril of Jerusalem.

- Cathermerinon, ("Book in Accordance with the Hours") comprises 12 lyric poems on various times of the day and on church festivals, hymns for daily use, by Prudentius.

- Catholic Epistles to churches in Greece, Bithynia, Crete, Pontus and Rome as well as to Chrysophora, by Dyonisius of Tarsus.

- Chronica (2 volumes, circa 402-404), sacred histories from the Creation to his own time but omitting the Gospels; the latter part is a valuable contemporary document, especially for the tragic history of the Priscillianists, followers of an unorthodox Trinitarian doctrine teaching that the Son differs from the Father only in name, by Sulpicius Severus.

- Chronicles by Eusebius of Caesarea.

- Chronographiai (221), a five-volume treatise on sacred and profane history from the Creation (which he placed at 5499 BC) to AD 221, by Julius Africanus.

- Church History (Ecclesiastical History) in 12 books, the work covers the period 300 to 425, it was intended to continue the monumental Ecclesiastical History by the 4th-century chronicler Eusebius of Caesarea, by Philostorgius.

- Clementine Literature, includes Recognition and Homilies. Attributed to St Clement of Rome (died around 100 AD) but were written in the fourth century AD.

- Collations of the Fathers (or Conferences of the Egyptian Monks), written as dialogues of the Desert Fathers by Cassian.

- Commentary on the Psalms, by Hilary of Poitiers.

- Concept of our Great Power (The)

- Confessio, a spiritual autobiography, by Saint Patrick.

- Confessions, the story of the restless youth and conversion of the author, by St Augustine

- Contestatio, a work summoning the faithful to rise against Nestorius, by Eusebius of Dorylaeum.

- Contra Symmachum ("Books Against Symmachus") were written in reply to that pagan senator's requests that the altar of Victory be restored to the Senate house, against paganism, by Prudentius.

- Contra Vigilantium, 406, a defence of monasticism, clerical celibacy, and certain practices connected with the cult of martyrs, by Saint Jerome.

- Contra Celsum (about 248), written at Ambrose's request, survives in its entirety in one Vatican manuscript, by Origen.

- Creation of Man (The), by Gregory of Nyzza.

- De anima ("Concerning the Soul"), a book on the Christian doctrine of man, by Tertullian.

- De Baptismo (On Baptism), by Tertullian.

- De bono mortis ["On the Goodness of Death"] betray a deep acquaintance with Neoplatonic mystical language, by Ambrose.

- De Consideratione (Consideration to Eugene III) by Bernard of Clairveaux.

- De corona ("Concerning the Crown"-a military decoration), by Tertullian. - De cultu feminarum ("Concerning the Dress of Women"), by Tertullian.

- De Diligendo Deo (The Love of God) by Bernard of Clairveaux.

- De dono perseverantiae ("Concerning the Gift of Perseverance"), by Saint Augustine of Hippo.

- De exhortatione castitatis ("Concerning the Exhortation to Chastity"), on marriage and remarriage, by Tertullian.

- De fuga in persecutione ("Concerning Flight in Persecution"), whether one should flee under persecution, by Tertullian.

- De Gratia gave the final form to Semi-Pelagianism, by Faustus de Riez.

- De idollatria ("Concerning Idolatry"), by Tertullian.

- De Isaac et anima ["On Isaac and the Soul"], sermons on the patriarchs by Ambrose.

- De libero arbitrio ("On Free Will"), by Pelagius (416).

- De Mensuris et Ponderibus by Epiphanius.

- De monogamia ("Concerning Monogamy"), by Tertullian.

- Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, written in Greek, is extant only in an Armenian translation; it was probably intended for the instruction of young candidates for Baptism, by Irenaeus

- De Nabuthe ["On Naboth"], denunciation of social abuses; he frequently secured pardon for condemned men, by Ambrose.

- De officiis ministrorum (386), on the moral obligations of the clergy, is modelled on Cicero's De officiis, by Ambrose.

- De Oratione (On Prayer), by Tertullian.

- De patientia), a virtue that he admitted was conspicuously absent from his life, by Tertullian.

- De poenitentia ("Concerning Repentance"), on repentance after Baptism, by Tertullian.

- De praedestinatione sanctorum ("Concerning the Predestination of the Saints"), by Saint Augustine of Hippo.

- De resurrectione carnis ("Concerning the Resurrection of the Flesh"), by Tertullian.

- De septies percussa ("Concerning Seven Beatings"), by Saint Jerome.

- De spectaculis ("Concerning Spectacles"), on the arts, theatre, and civic festivals, by Tertullian.

- De synodis ("Concerning the Synods") explains the history of the Arian controversy and asks the faithful in the East to rally against those who believed the Son was unlike the Father, by Hilary of Poitiers.

- De Trinitate, long attributed to Athanasius or Bishop Vigilius of Thapsus, are presently accepted as Eusebius of Vercelli' work.

- De trinitate, the first work in Latin to deal with the issues of the Trinitarian controversies, by Hilary of Poitiers.

- Deus Creator omnium (Maker of all things, God most high), by Ambrose.

- De viris illustribus ("Concerning Illustrious Men"), a catalogue of Christian authors, was written in 392/393 to counter pagan pride in pagan culture, by Saint Jerome. - De vocazitone omnium gentium, view on predestination and grace that explains the universal saving will of God, by Prosper of Aquitaine.

- Dialogue of Papiscus with Jason, on the Jewish-Christian, by Aristo of Pella.

- Dialogue on the Life of St. John Chrysostom, by Palladius.

- Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, by Justin Martyr.

- Dialogi (404), a masterpiece in which the relative merits of Martin's monastery (at Marmoutier, near Tours) are debated by one of its inmates with a traveller recently returned to Aquitania from the ascetics of the North African desert, by Sulpicius Severus.

- Dialogi contra Pelagianos (three books, 415), using fictitious interlocutors to make the author's arguments impersonal, by Saint Jerome.

- Didascalia Apostolorum or "The Catholic Teaching of the Twelve Holy Apostles Ecclesiastical History, a landmark in Christian historiography, by Eusebius of Caerarea.

- Disciples of the Saviour (also named the Directions of the Apostles), written by Epiphanius in the early 3d century for a Jewish-Christian Church in northern Syria by its bishop.

- Discourse Concerning the Salvation of Rich Men by Clement of Alexandria.

- Dittochaeon ("The Double Testament"), 49 quatrains intended as captions for the murals of a basilica in Rome, is of interest mainly to art historians, by Prudentius.

- Divinae institutiones, a repudiation of the deluding superstitions of pagan cults, proposing in their place the Christian religion as a theism, or rationalized belief in a single Supreme Being, by Lactantius.

- Ecclesiastical History (Historia ecclesiastica), in seven books, by Socrates Scholasticus.

- Eclogae Propheticae (or Extracts), in the form of notes, by Clement of Alexandria.

- Epistle of Barnabas (The), one of the best known writing of the early Christian Church. Not included in New Testament because it is a mixture of Pagan, Gnostic, and Christian ideas.

- Epistle (The), of Polycarp.

- Epistle to Diognetus, by Pantaenus.

- Epistola, a denunciation of British mistreatment of Irish Christians, by Saint Patrick.

- Euchologion ("Collected Prayers," or "Sacramentary"), contains liturgical texts for various rites and blessings, including some of the earliest formulas in the Eucharist, by Serapion of Thmuis.

- Evangelium de nativitate Mariae ("Gospel of the Nativity of Mary"), 3d century AD.

- Exhortation to Martyrdom, addressed to Ambrose, by Origen.

- Exhortation to the Greeks (Protrepticus)", an attack on Pagan beliefs and religion, by Clement of Alexandria.

- Exhortation to Patience or Address to the Newly Baptized, a moral work, by Clement of Alexandria.

- Explanation of the Sayings of the Lord, important apostolic source accounts of the history of primitive Christianity and of the origins of the Gospels, by Papias of Hieropolis (2d century AD).

- Exposition of Faith, a theological apology for Trinitarian belief that incorporates doctrinal instructions to Christian initiates, express arguments against heretical groups, and was the forerunner of the Nicene Creed of the early 4th century, by Gregory Thaumaturgus.

- Exposition of the Symbol of Nicaea, by Theodotus of Ancyra.

- Exposito psalmorum, a florilegium of Augustine's comments on psalms 100 to 150 by Prosper of Aquitaine.

- Feast of the Lights, in honour of the Virgin Mary, by Theodotus of Ancyra.

- Five Theological Orations, a presentation of trinitarian doctrine by Gregory of Nazianzus.

- Four Orations Against the Arians, by Athanasius (Saint)

- Great Catechesis (or Address on Religious Instruction), a classic outline of orthodox theology, by Gregory of Nyssa.

- Hamartigenia ("The Origin of Sin") attacks the Gnostic dualism of Marcion and his followers, by Prudentius.

- Hexaëmeron ("On the Six Days of Creation") sermons expounding the Bible and defending the "spiritual" meaning of the Old Testament by erudite philosophical allegory, by Ambrose.

- Hexaëmeron ("Six Days"), sermons on the days of the Creation, Gregory of Nyssa completed Basil's work.

- Hexapla, a synopsis of six versions of the Old Testament by Origen.

- Historia ecclesiastica (Ecclesiastical History), by Eusebius of Caesarea.

- Historiarum adversus paganos libri VII (Seven Books of Histories Against the Pagans). This book chronicles the history of the world from its creation through the founding and history of Rome up until AD 417, by Orosius.

- Homilies, a survey of the Christian faith predominantly in theological, ascetical, and disciplinary matters, by Aphraates.

- Homilies, attributed to St Clement of Rome but Written in the 4th century AD.

- II and III John, Letters written by John the Presbyter.

- Institutes of the Monastic Life (420-429) by Cassian.

- Jewish Foods by Novatian.

- Lausiac History, an account of early Egyptian and Middle Eastern Christian monasticism, a valuable source on the origins of Christian asceticism, by Palladius.

- Legenda aurea (Golden Legend), a hagiographic collection by Jacobus de Voragine, 13th century.

- Letter to the Philippians, a refutation of the Gnostics' argument that God's incarnation in, and the death and Resurrection of, Christ were all imaginary phenomena of purely moral or mythological significance, by Polycarp.

- Letters (Three), attributed to Saint John.

- Letters of Barnabas, an exegetical treatise on the use of the Old Testament, attributed to Barnabas (?).

- Letter to the Church of Corinth (I Clement), written to settle a controversy among the Corinthians against their church leaders, attributed to Clement of Rome.

- Letters to Anastasius I, by Gelasius I.

- Letter to Cyprian concerning baptism, by Firmilian of Caesarea.

- Letter to Theopompus on the Passible and Impassible in God, deals with the Hellenistic theory of God's incapacity for feeling and suffering, by Gregory Thaumaturgus.

- Letters to the Churches of Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, Rome, Philadelphia and Smyrna as well as to Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, by Saint Ignatius. They have survived.

- Letters (or Epistle) to the Hebrews attributed to Barnabas.

- Libellus fidei ("Brief Statement of Faith"), by Pelagius.

- Liber Hebraicarum quaestionum in Genesim ("Book of Hebrew Questions on Genesis") gives an important place to geography, etymology, and rabbinic tradition (post-biblical Jewish scholarly views), by Saint Jerome.

- Liber interpretationis Hebraicorum nominum ("Book of Interpretation of Hebrew Names"), an alphabetical list, with quite fanciful etymologies or origins, of Hebrew proper names in the Bible, by Saint Jerome.

- Liber locorum ("Book of Places"), a useful translation and adaptation of Eusebius' work on Palestinian place-names, by Saint Jerome.

- Liber sententiarum Sancti Augustini ("The Book of the Sentences of St. Augustine"), a collection of Augustinian propositions by Prosper of Aquitaine.

- Life of Constantine, a biography of Constantine written after his death in 337, Eusebius of Caesarea or Eusebius Pamphilus.

- Life of Macrina blends biography with instruction in the monastic life, by Gregory of Nyssa.

- Life of Polycarp, that still exists in part, by Pionius.

- Life of Saint Anthony, from his writings and discourses, edited by Athanasius.

- Lives of the Friends of God (The), deals with the earliest Christian ascetics in the wilderness areas of Egypt and Asia Minor, by Palladius.

- Lord's Passion (The), a theological treatise on Easter, by Melito de Sardis, 2d century AD.

- Macarian writings, a collection of 50 Spiritual Homilies, possibly recorded in expanded form by a monastic colleague and attributed to Macarius the Egyptian after his death.

- Matheseos libri ("Books on Astrology") (circa 335), by Firmicus Maternus.

- Memoirs (five books), a prime source on the organizational structure and theological ferment of the primitive Christian church, by Hegesippus.

- Metabole, a hexameter paraphrase of St. John's Gospel, by Nonnus of Panapolis.

- Mystical Life of Moses, treats the 13th-century-BC journey of the Hebrews from Egypt to Mount Sinai as a pattern of the progress of the soul through the temptations of the world to a vision of God, by Gregory of Nyzza.

- Nine treatises against the Jews, particularly acrimonious, they treat of Easter, circumcision, dietary laws, the supplanting of Israel by Gentiles as the new chosen people, and Jesus' divine sonship, by Aphraates.

- Nobleman (The), by Meister Eckhart.

- Ode to Solomon, a collection of 42 hymns known to the early Christian Church, partly of Jewish origin.

- On Detachment, by Meister Eckhart.

- On First Principles (De principiis) by Origen.

- On Not Three Gods, a brief treaty that relates the Cappadocian Fathers' theology of three Persons in the Godhead (i.e., the Trinity) to Plato's teachings of the One and the Many, by Gregory of Nyssa.

- On Prayer (about 233), a tract preserved in one manuscript at Cambridge; it expounds the Lord's Prayer and discusses some of the philosophical problems of petition, arguing that petition can only be excluded by a determinism false to the experience of personality, while the highest prayer is an elevation of the soul beyond material things to a passive inward union with Christ, mediator between men and the Father, by Origen.

- On the Death of Persecutors, held that the Christian God could intervene to right human injustice, by Lactantius.

- On the Incarnation of the Lord, a theological dissertation written against the heretic Nestorius at the request of Pope Leo I, by Cassian.

- On the Government of God, an attack the complacency of the church and the empire, 8 volumes, by Savian.

- On the Resurrection (Peri anastaseos) by Origen.

- On the Trinity by Novatian.

- On the Unity of the Catholic Church, which stressed the centrality of the see of Peter (Rome) as the source of the episcopacy, by St Cyprian.

- On virginity, by Gregory of Nyzza.

- Ordinances of the Holy Apostles through Clement (Apostolic Constitutions) reputedly drafted by the Apostles, it is the largest collection of early -Christian ecclesiastical law, attributed to Clement of Rome.

- Outlines, based on the doctrines of Origen, by Theognotus.

- Panarion or Medicine Chest against (or Refutation of) all Heresies, a treatise on heresies by Epiphanius.

- Panegyric to Origen, a florid eulogy, by Gregory Thaumaturgus.

-"Peri physeos anthropou" ("On the Nature of Man"), the first known book of theological anthropology with a Christian orientation, by Nemesius of Emesa.

- Peri Stephanon ("Crowns of Martyrdom") contains 14 lyric poems on Spanish and Roman martyrs, by Prudentius.

- Physica, an explanation of Aristotle's Physics, dealing with all the branches of natural science, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, astronomy, ethics, economics, politics, and metaphysics, by Magnus Albertus.

- Praescriptione Hereticorum (On the Claims of Heretics), by Tertullian

- Prayer of the Apostle Paul (A).

- Presbeia peri Christianon (Embassy for the Christians), circa 177 AD, uses Neoplatonic concepts to interpret Christian belief and worship for Greek and Roman cultures and to refute early pagan charges that Christians were disloyal and immoral, by Athenagoras.

- Protevangelium of James ("First Gospel of James"), 2d century AD.

- Psychomachia ("The Contest of the Soul"), the first completely allegorical poem in European literature, was immensely influential in the Middle Ages, by Prudentius.

- Quest of the Historical Jesus (The), by Albert Schweitzer.

- Recognitions, attributed to St Clement of Rome but Written in the 4th century AD.

- Refutation and Subversion of Knowledge Falsely So Called or "Adversus Haereses" (Against Heresies -Gnostic Heresies), by Irenaeus, 180 AD.

- Refutation of All Heresies (The), traces the Gnostic heresies to their origin in Greek schools of philosophy, by Hippolytus, 220 AD.

- Regula prima, "First Rule," or Regula non bullata, "Rule Without a Bull"), which reasserted devotion to poverty and the apostolic life and introduced greater institutional structure but was never officially sanctioned by the pope, by St. Francis of Assisi.

- Regula secunda ("Second Rule"), or Regula bullata ("Rule with a Bull") a revision of the rule. Pope Honorius III approved it in the bull Solet annuere ("Accustomed to Grant") on November 29, 1223, by St. Francis of Assisi.

- Retractions by St. Augustine.

- Revelations to John, attributed to Saint John.

- Sermons on the Canticle of Canticles, by Bernard de Clairvaux.

- Sinaitic text, the text of the Codex Sinaiticus, a Greek manuscript of the bible dating to the fourth century AD. It was discovered in 1884 in the monastery of Ste Catherine on Mount Sinai. It is now in the British Museum.

- Six Books Against Nestorius, by Theodotus of Ancyra.

- Stromateis (Carpet bags), relation of Christianity to Gnosis and to Greek philosophy by Clement of Alexandria.

- Stromateis (Miscellanies) by Origen.

- Talks of Instruction (1300?), by Eckhart.

- Three books of defence of Christianity by Theophilus of Antioch.

- To the Friends of God, addressed to younger monks, by Macarius the Egyptian.

- Tractatus mysteriorum, on typology, by Hilary of Poitiers.

- Treatise on the Resurrection (The), by St. Paul.

- Trimorphic Protennoia.

- Tutor (The) (Paidagogos)", instructions to the converted, by Clement of Alexandria.

- Two sermons on Christmas, by Theodotus of Ancyra.

- Vita S. Martini, the first draft was written before Martin's death in 397; supplementary matter relating to Martin is added in all later versions, including three authentic letters, by Sulpicius Severus.

4- Jewish books

A- Old Testament.

A.1- The Pentateuch

- Genesis, is Hebrew Bereshit ("In the Beginning"), is the first book of the Old Testament. Its name derives from the opening words: "In the beginning …" Genesis narrates the primeval history of the world (chapters 1-11) and the patriarchal history of the Israelite people (chapters 12-50). The primeval history includes the stories of the Creation, the Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood, and the Tower of Babel. The patriarchal history begins with the divine promise to Abraham that "I will make of you a great nation" (12:2) and tells the stories of Abraham (chapters 12-25) and his descendants: Isaac and his twin sons Jacob and Esau (chapters 26-36) and Jacob's family, the principal figure being Joseph (chapters 37-50), whose story tells how the Israelites came to be in Egypt. Genesis must thus be seen as a part of a larger unit of material traditionally understood to comprise the first five books of the Bible, called the Torah, or Pentateuch.

- Exodus, an Old Testament book whose Hebrew title is Shemot (Names). Chapters 1-18 narrate the history of the Egyptian bondage, the Exodus from Egypt, and the journey to Mount Sinai under the leadership of Moses. The second half of the book tells of the Covenant between God and Israel made at Sinai that promulgates the laws for the ordering of Israel's life.

- Leviticus, in Hebrew Wayiqra (And He Called) is the third book of the Latin Vulgate Bible, a book (or manual) primarily concerned with the priests and their duties. Leviticus is a book of laws that also contains some narrative (chapters 8-9, 10:1-7, 10:16-20, and 24:10-14). The book is divided into five parts: sacrificial laws (chapters 1-7); the inauguration of the priesthood and laws governing their office (chapters 8-10); laws for ceremonial purity (chapters 11-16); laws governing the people's holiness (chapters 17-26); and a supplement concerning offerings to the sanctuary and religious vows (chapter 27). Scholars agree that Leviticus belongs to the Priestly source of the Pentateuchal traditions. This material is dated from the 7th century BC and is regarded as the law upon which Ezra and Nehemiah based their reform. Older material, particularly the "Holiness Code" (chapters 17-26), dates from ancient times.

- Numbers (in Hebrew Bemidbar or "In the Wilderness") is also called The Fourth Book Of Moses, the fourth book of the Bible. The book is the sacred history of the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness following the departure from Sinai and before their occupation of Canaan, the Promised Land. It describes their sufferings and their numerous complaints against God. The people are depicted as faithless and rebellious, and God as one who provides for and sustains his people. These accounts continue the story of God's promise that the Israelites will inhabit the land of Canaan. The story, begun in Genesis and continued in Exodus and Leviticus, does not reach its conclusion until Israel successfully occupies the Promised Land. As the books now stand, the promise is fulfilled in the Book of Joshua.

- Deuteronomy, the fifth and last book of the Pentateuch in the Old Testament, written in the form of a farewell address by Moses to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land of Canaan. The core of the book probably dates from the 7th century BC.

A.2- The Historical Books

- Joshua is the sixth book of the Old Testament, which belongs to a tradition of Jewish history and law, called Deuteronomic that was first written about 550 BC, during the Babylonian Exile. The book is the first of the Former Prophets in the Jewish canon. It tells the story of the Israelite occupation of Canaan, the Promised Land. The book can be divided into three sections: the conquest of Canaan (chapters 1-12), the distribution of the land among the Israelite tribes (chapters 13-22), and Joshua's farewell address and death (chapters 23-24). Joshua is often seen as the beginning of a history that continues in the following books. The conquest of the Promised Land is forcefully told, and the historian emphasizes the help of Yahweh in the conquest. The allotment of the land to various tribes is made to include territory that never belonged to Israel or that came into Israel's possession at a much later time, reflecting the historian's hope that the former glory of the Israelite nation will be restored. The farewell address of Joshua (chapter 24) sets forth the conditions for Yahweh's maintenance of Israel in the land: "If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good".

- Judges is an Old Testament book of the historical tradition known as Deuteronomic history that was first written about 550 BC, during the Babylonian Exile. The judges to whom the title refers were charismatic leaders who delivered Israel from a succession of foreign dominations after their conquest of Canaan, the Promised Land. The introduction is an account of the conquest of Canaan (1:1-2:5) and a description of the period of the judges (2:6-3:6). The main body of the book consists of narratives about the judges. The book concludes with supplements about the migration of the tribe of Dan to the north (chapters 17-18) and about the sins of the Benjaminites (chapters 19-21). Recurring throughout the book is the stereotyped formula: "The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord . . . and he sold them into the hand of . . ." After each period of subjection, the historian introduces another formula: "But when the people of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people . . ."

- Ruth is an Old Testament book belonging to the third section of the biblical canon, known as the Ketuvim, or Writings. In the Hebrew Bible, Ruth stands with the Song of Solomon, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther; together they make up the Megillot, five scrolls that are read at prescribed times on Jewish religious festivals. The book is named for its central character, a Moabite woman. According to the final verses of the book, her son was the grandfather of David. This attempt to make Ruth an ancestor of David is considered a late addition to a book that itself must be dated in the late 5th or 4th century BC.

- 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel are two Old Testament books that, along with Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and 1 and 2 Kings, belong to the tradition of Deuteronomic history first written about 550 BC. The two books, which were originally one, are concerned with the origin and early history of the monarchy of ancient Israel. The work bears the name of Samuel, the first of its principal figures; he was instrumental in the selection of the first two kings. In 1 Samuel, Samuel is treated as prophet and judge and Israel's principal figure immediately before the monarchy, and Saul as king. In 2 Samuel, David is presented as king. There are numerous parallels, repetitions, and discrepancies within the books of Samuel. Different accounts are given of the origin of the monarchy; there are two accounts of the rejection of Saul as king and two more of David's introduction to Saul. One account of the slaying of Goliath attributes the act to David and the other to Elhanan. Some scholars assume that the books of Samuel were composed from two or three sources; others, the majority, suggest a compilation of independent narratives of varying lengths. The promise in 2 Samuel 7 that divine favour will rest permanently on the Davidic dynasty is crucial for understanding the writer's theological motivation for producing his history in the exilic period. He hoped for a restoration of his people and was convinced that one of the conditions for such a restoration was to recognize the divine legitimation of the house of David. He was also convinced that the kings of a restored Davidic monarchy would prosper in proportion to their faithfulness to the Law of Moses.

- 1 Kings, 2 Kings are two books of the Hebrew Bible or the Protestant Old Testament that, together with Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and 1 and 2 Samuel, belong to the group of Deuteronomic history written during the Babylonian Exile of the Jews (c. 550 BC). (In most Roman Catholic versions, 1 and 2 Samuel are called the first and second books of Kings, and the two Hebrew and Protestant books of Kings are called the third and fourth books of Kings). The two books of Kings recount the fate of the monarchy in Israel after the death of King David. The first two chapters of 1 Kings complete the story of David, begun in the preceding books of Samuel, and tell of the accession of his son Solomon. The reign of Solomon is treated in 1 Kings 3-11, followed by the reigns of kings of Judah and Israel from the beginning of the divided monarchy (c. 930 BC) until the fall of the kingdom of Israel in 721 BC. The second book, 2 Kings, tells of the reigns of kings of the surviving southern kingdom of Judah until its eventual collapse in 586 BC. In both books, the performance of each king is judged not on political accomplishments but on theological criteria. All of the kings of the northern kingdom are consequently presented in a bad light because they did not recognize the exclusive legitimacy of the cult in Jerusalem. Of the southern kings, only Hezekiah and Josiah receive unqualified approval.

- 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles are two Old Testament books that were originally part of a larger work that included the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. These three (Ezra and Nehemiah were one book in the Jewish canon) were the final books of the Hebrew Bible. The author, known as the Chronicler, probably lived about 350-300 BC. The material of the Chronicles lists genealogies from Adam to King Saul (1 Chronicles 1-2) and covers the death of Saul and the reign of King David (1 Chronicles 10-29), the reign of King Solomon (2 Chronicles 1-9), and from the division of the monarchy into the northern and southern kingdoms to the end of the Babylonian Exile (2 Chronicles 10-36). The Chronicler used the Old Testament books of Samuel and Kings as sources for his historical account freely modified to accord with the Chronicler's own interests and point of view. The Chronicler's single-minded interest in the Temple causes him to omit mention of the palace built during Solomon's reign (1 Kings 7). The Chronicler also shows that he was interested in institutions that provided for the continuity of the true Israel: the Temple of Jerusalem and the Davidic dynasty.

- Ezra and Nehemiah are two Old Testament books that, with the books of Chronicles, formed a single history of Israel from the time of Adam. Ezra and Nehemiah is a single book in the Jewish canon. Later works, e.g., the Jerusalem Bible, maintain separate identities but associate the books. Protestants treat them separately. The uniformity of language, style, and ideas of the two books and Chronicles shows that they are from the same author, known as the Chronicler. He belongs to a period after the Babylonian Exile, probably about 350-300 BC. Ezra 1-6 treats the return of the exiles and the rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem. The activity recounted in Ezra 7 to Nehemiah 13 represents the Chronicler's view of how the life of his people should be organized after the exile with a religious revival in conformity with Mosaic laws.

- Esther is an Old Testament book that belongs to the third section of the Judaic biblical canon, known as the Ketuvim, or "Writings." The Book of Esther is one of the Megillot, five scrolls read on stated Jewish religious holidays. The book explains how the feast of Purim came to be celebrated by the Jews. According to the Book of Esther, the feast of Purim was established to celebrate the day when the Jews escaped being killed by the king's chief minister, Hanan. This explanation is surely legendary. The book may have been composed as late as the first half of the 2nd century BC, though the origin of the Purim festival could date to the Babylonian exile (6th century BC).

- Job is a book of the Hebrew Scripture. It belongs to the third section of the biblical canon known as the Ketuvim ("Writings"). The book's theme is the eternal problem of unmerited suffering, and it is named after its central character, Job, who attempts to understand the sufferings that engulf him. The prose narratives date to before the 6th century BCE, and the poetry has been dated between the 6th and the 4th century BCE. In it Job is a prosperous man of outstanding piety. Satan wants to know if Job's piety is due to his wealth. Faced with the loss of his possessions, his children, and finally his own health, Job still refuses to curse God. The poetic discourses, which probe the meaning of Job's sufferings, consist of three cycles of speeches with three friends and his conversations with God. Job proclaims his innocence and the injustice of his suffering, while his "comforters" argue that Job is being punished for his sins. Job, convinced of his faithfulness and uprighteousness, is not satisfied with this explanation. The conversation between Job and God resolves the dramatic tension but without solving the problem of undeserved suffering. The speeches show Job's trust in the purposeful activity of God in the affairs of the world, even though God's ways with man remain mysterious and inscrutable.

A.3- The poetical Books

- Psalms is a book of the Old Testament composed of sacred songs, or of sacred poems, meant to be sung. In the Hebrew Bible, Psalms begins the third and last section of the biblical canon, the Writings (Hebrew Ketuvim). In the Hebrew text the book was not named, but the titles of many psalms contained the word mizmor, meaning a poem sung. The Greek translation, psalmos, is the basis for the English name Psalms. Another translation is Psalterion, or Psalter in English name Psalter. Rabbinic literature uses the title Tehillim ("Songs of Praise"). The book of Psalms now consists of 150 poems divided into five books (1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150). The fivefold division is perhaps meant to be an imitation of the Pentateuch. The psalms themselves range in mood and expression of faith from joyous celebration to solemn hymn and bitter protest. They are sometimes classified according to form or type; the major forms include the hymn (e.g., 104, 135), the lament (e.g., 13, 80), the song of confidence (e.g., 46, 121), and the song of thanksgiving (e.g., 9, 136). Their dating and authorship poses a difficult problem. They were written over a number of centuries, from the early monarchy to post-Exilic times. They were a part of the ritualised activities that the Hebrew community developed for marking important public and personal situations. Although many of the psalms had their setting in the ritual life of the Temple of Solomon before the Babylonian Exile (6th century BC), the Psalter became the hymnbook of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. The psalms also had a profound effect on the development of Christian worship.

- Proverbs (The), also called The Book of Proverbs and proverbs of Solomon, is an Old Testament book of "wisdom" writing found in the third section of the Jewish canon, known as the Ketuvim, or Writings. The book's reference to Solomon does not mean that all or individual proverbs should be credited to King Solomon. It contains seven collections of wisdom materials from a wide variety of periods, all after Solomon's time. The earliest collection (25:1-29:27), titled "proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied," dates of about 700 BC; the latest (1:1-9:18) dates from the 4th century BC. There is an untitled acrostic poem about the virtuous wife (31:10-31). The third collection (22:17-24:22) has attracted much attention because of its affinity to the Egyptian "Wisdom of Amenemope," variously dated between the 10th and 6th centuries BC.

- Ecclesiastes, (Preacher), an Old Testament book of wisdom literature that belongs to the third section of the biblical canon, known as the Ketuvim (Writings). The actual author of Ecclesiastes is unknown even if it is sometimes attributed to Ben Sira (Sirach).

- The Song of Songs, also called Canticle of Canticles and The Song of Solomon, is an Old Testament book that belongs to the third section of the biblical canon, known as the Ketuvim, or "Writings." In the Hebrew Bible the Song of Solomon stands with Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther and with them makes up the Megillot, five scrolls that are read on various religious festivals of the Jewish year. This book is the festal scroll for Pesah (Passover), which celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. The book in its present form postdates the Babylonian Exile (5th century BC onward), but the poems that it preserves date from about the 10th century BC, the period of the Davidic monarchy. The author of the book is unknown, Solomon's name is a later addition. It is a collection of love poems spoken alternately by a man and a woman. Some poems describe the beauty and excellence of the beloved. The Song of Solomon has received various interpretations, the most common being allegorical, dramatic, cultic, and literal. Among Jews, the allegorical interpretation regards the book as an allegory of God's love for the Israelites, with whom he has made a sacred covenant. Among Christians, the book is interpreted as describing the covenantal love of Christ for his church. In medieval mysticism, the Song of Solomon was construed to apply to the love between Christ and the human soul.

A.4- The Prophets

- Isaiah, A book of the same name is attributed to Isaiah but scholars now recognize that it took shape over several centuries, attaining its present form sometime before 180 BC. The Book of Isaiah id divided in two sections, originating in different ages and marked by distinctly different theological outlooks and literary styles. The first 39 chapters date mainly from the time of the historical Isaiah -latter half of the 8th century BC; it is attributed to the prophet and is called First Isaiah. The second section of the book (chapters 40-66) dates to the second half of the sixth century BC and is often subdivided into Second Isaiah and Third Isaiah.

- Jeremiah, The Book of, is also called The Prophecy Of Jeremias, is one of the major prophetical writings of the Old Testament. Jeremiah, a Judaean prophet received his call to be a prophet in the 13th year of the reign of King Josiah (627/626 BC) and continued his ministry until 586 BC. Many of his oracles concerned the turbulent events of his times. The major parts of the book are: prophecies against Judah and Jerusalem (chapters 1-25), narratives about Jeremiah (chapters 26-45), prophesies against foreign nations (chapters 46-51), and a historical appendix (chapter 52). The prophecies against Judah and Jerusalem are from Jeremiah himself. The second part probably owes its composition to Baruch, the scribe who, according to chapter 36, wrote the prophecies against Israel and Judah and all the nations from Jeremiah's dictation. The prophecies against foreign nations may derive in part from Jeremiah; the appendix was largely taken from 2 Kings. The "confessions" of Jeremiah are a group of individual laments reflecting the personal struggles due to the prophet's role as the spokesman of a message so unpopular that it evoked imprisonments and threats to his life. These confessions make the personal history of Jeremiah more accessible. The book is the product of a long process of growth, with several redactors responsible for the inclusion and arrangement of materials.

- Lamentations, also called The Lamentations of Jeremiah and The Lamentations of Jeremias, is an Old Testament book belonging to the third section of the biblical canon, known as the Ketuvim, or Writings. In the Hebrew Bible, Lamentations stands with Ruth, the Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, and Esther and with them makes up the Megillot, five scrolls that are read on various festivals of the Jewish religious year. In the Jewish liturgical calendar, Lamentations is the festal scroll of the Ninth of Av, a day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples of Jerusalem. The Christian English translations of the Bible, following the Greek and the Latin versions, call the book The Lamentations of Jeremiah, though in the Talmud and the Septuagint it is simply Lamentations. The content and style argue against Jeremiah's authorship. The poems are independent units, but their mood and content provide a unity to the book as a whole. Because the poems are laments over the destruction of Judah, Jerusalem, and the Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BC, they must be dated during the exile that followed.

- Ezekiel, also called The Prophecy of Ezechiel, is one of the major prophetical books of the Old Testament. Ezekiel received his prophetic call in the fifth year of the first deportation to Babylonia (592 BC) and was active until about 570 BC. The literary history of the book is much debated, but its final form exhibits a threefold theme: threats against Judah and Jerusalem (chapters 1-25), threats against foreign nations (chapters 25-32), and prophesies of restoration and hope (chapters 33-44). Most of the material is undoubtedly genuine, although a few later additions are discernible.

- Daniel is a book of the Old Testament found in the Ketuvim Writings, the third section of the Jewish canon. This book was written in about 167-164 BC and was given the name of Daniel, a Jew of the 6th century BC, an exile at the Babylonian Court.

- Hosea gave his name to a book of the Old Testament, the first of 12 short prophetic books linked together because of their brevity. Some scholars consider that some hopeful and conciliatory parts, as compared with the tone of the rest of the book, are the work of later editors. Hosea contains 14 chapters divided into two sections: chapters 1-3 and 4-14. In chapters 1-3 the prophet compares the relationship between God and Israel to that of a man who is married to an unfaithful woman. Hosea sees the covenant, or union, between God and Israel, formerly based on law, as a spiritual bond based on love. The remaining chapters consist of a series of short prophecies dealing with the spiritual corruption of the people, the moral unfitness of the kings, priests, and prophets, and the judgment and punishment that must follow as a consequence of such infidelity and degeneracy. The dominant tone of these chapters is one of impending doom.

- Joel is one of 12 short prophetic books of the Old Testament. In the Hebrew (Jewish) versions of the Old Testament the book is divided into four chapters; chapter 3 in the Hebrew versions appears as 2:28-32 in Christian versions, and chapter 4 appears as chapter 3. The book has two distinct parts. In the first part (1-2:27), the prophet depicts the devastation resulting from a plague of locusts. The prophet, interpreting the plague as a portent of the coming "day of the Lord", or Day of Judgment, warns the people that only repentance can save them. If they repent, the Lord will remove the locusts and restore the land its former fruitfulness and he will bring back the former plenty to the people. In the second part (2:28-3:21), Joel prophesies an age of deliverance, in which God will pour out his "spirit on all flesh" (2:28), and "will give portents in the heavens and on the earth" (2:30), and "gather all the nations" (3:2; 3:14) for a final judgment. The enemies of Judah will then be defeated for "violence done to the people of Judah," "Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations" (3:19-20).

- Amos is the third of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the Minor Prophets, collected in one book under the Jewish canon titled The Twelve. Amos' only credential to prophesy to Israel was a summons by Yahweh. The book is a collection of sayings and reports of visions. Amos' message is primarily one of doom. Israel's neighbours do not escape his attention but his threats are primarily against Israel, which has defected from the worship of Yahweh to the worship of Canaanite gods. He pronounces judgment on the rich for self-indulgence and oppression of the poor, on those who pervert justice, and on those who desire the day of Yahweh on which God will reveal his power, punish the wicked, and renew the righteous. That day, Amos warned, will be a day of darkness for Israel because of its defection from Yahweh. The book ends unexpectedly (9:8-15) with a promise of restoration for Israel, possibly a later addition.

- Obadiah, (Book of), also spelled Abdias, is the fourth of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the Minor Prophets. The Jewish canon treats them as one book, The Twelve. Obadiah has only one chapter and 21 verses, it is the shortest of all Old Testament books and is said to be a record of "the vision of Obadiah." In the book, Edom, a long-time enemy of Israel, is punished for its refusal to help Israel repel foreigners who invaded and conquered Jerusalem. This reference suggests a date of composition after the Babylonian conquest of 586 BC. Other scholars, noting the anti-Edomite sentiments in II Kings 8:20-22, date it as early as the 9th century BC. The book announces that the Day of Judgment is near for all nations, when all evil will be punished and the righteous renewed. The final verses prophesy the restoration of the Jews to their native land.

- Jonah, the book of the Old Testament, is one of 12 brief prophetic books known because of their brevity as the Minor Prophets. The book describes some incidents in the life of Jonah. In the first, Jonah is told by God to "go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness has come up before me" (1:2). Jonah seeks to flee by ship from "the presence of the Lord" (1:3, 10). In a tempest, the frightened mariners throw Jonah overboard and he is swallowed by "a great fish" (1:17). Later on, Jonah prays from the belly of the fish (2:1-9) and is "vomited out upon the dry land" (2:10), and again is commanded to "go to Nineveh. Jonah preaches (3:3, 4), the people repent (3:5-9), and God, seeing their works, spares them (3:10). In the final incident, God reproves Jonah for being "displeased … exceedingly" (4:1) after he spares "more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left" (4:11).

- Micah is the sixth of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the Minor Prophets, grouped together as The Twelve in the Jewish canon. This Judaean prophet was active during the last half of the 8th century BC. The book is a compilation of materials some of which come from a period considerably later than Micah's time. The threats in chapters 1-3 and 6-7:7 are usually attributed to Micah, but the promises in chapters 4-5 and 7:8-20 are generally dated several centuries later but it is possible that some promises come from Micah himself. The exalted view of Zion in 4:1-4 and the messianic character of 5:2-4 reflect the ideology of the Zion cult in Jerusalem before the exile. Micah's threats are directed against idolaters, those who oppress the little man, priests and prophets who use their profession for financial gain, and leaders who pervert equity and abhor justice.

- Nahum is the seventh of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the Minor Prophets (grouped together as The Twelve in the Jewish canon). It is an "oracle concerning Nineveh" attributed to the "vision of Nahum of Elkosh" based on the fall of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The mighty Assyrian Empire, a threat to the smaller nations of the ancient Middle East, was a particular menace to the Israelite people. Its decline by the Neo-Babylonian power of the Medes and the Chaldeans and its final collapse in the destruction of Nineveh (612 BC) gave the prophet Nahum cause for extolling these events, which, he announced, occurred because Assyria's policies were not in accord with God's will.

- Habakkuk, The Book of, also called "The Prophecy of Habacuc", is the eighth of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the Minor Prophets. The book shows that Habakkuk was a cult prophet or that cultists edited the final form of the book. The mention of the Chaldeans as Yahweh's agent suggests that it was written during the period of Chaldean power following their successful revolt against the Assyrians in 626 BC. A more precise date depends on the identity of "the wicked" and "the righteous" who are mentioned in the book. If "the wicked" are the Assyrians and "the righteous" are the Judaeans, then the book must be dated before 612 BC, when the Assyrian Empire finally fell. In this way Habakkuk announced the collapse of the wicked oppressors (Assyrians) of the people of Judah. In the meantime, he consoled, "the righteous shall live by his faith".

- Zephaniah (Book of), also called Sophonias, is the ninth of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the Minor Prophets, collected in one book, The Twelve, in the Jewish canon. The book consists of a series of sayings, many of which are attributed to Zephaniah, written about 640-630 BC. The final compilation and the expansion of the sayings is the work of a later editor. The dominant theme of the book is the "day of the Lord," which the prophet sees approaching as a consequence of the sins of Judah. A few will be saved (the "humble and lowly") through purification by judgment. Amos and Isaiah originally developed this concept, and Zephaniah may have influenced his younger contemporary Jeremiah. His description of the "day of the Lord," has entered deeply into the popular conception of the judgment day.

- Haggai, The Book of, is also called The Prophecy Of Aggeus. It is the 10th of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the Minor Prophets. The book consists of four prophecies delivered over a four-month period in the second year of the reign of the Persian king Darius I the Great (521 BC). Although attributed to Haggai, the book must be credited to someone other than the prophet; it was probably compiled soon after the occurrence of the events. Haggai's oracles show his concern for the immediate reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. He believed that the economic distress of the people was caused by their negligent delay in starting the construction and that Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah under Darius, was God's chosen Davidic representative.

- Zechariah (Book of), also spelled Zacharias, is the 11th of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the Minor Prophets, collected in the Jewish canon in one book, The Twelve. Only chapters 1-8 contain the prophecies of Zechariah; chapters 9-14 must be attributed to at least two other unknown authors. Scholars refer to a "second" and "third" Zechariah: Deutero-Zechariah (chapters 9-11) and Trito-Zechariah (chapters 12-14). Zechariah was active from 520 to 518 BC and he shared his contemporary Haggai's concern that the Temple of Jerusalem be rebuilt. Unlike Haggai, Zechariah thought that the rebuilding of the Temple was the necessary prelude to the eschatological age, the arrival of which was imminent. Accordingly, Zechariah's book, and his eight night visions (1:7-6:8), describe the arrival of the eschatological age (the end of the world) and the organization of life in the eschatological community. Among Zechariah's visions was one that described four apocalyptic horsemen who presaged God's revival of Jerusalem after its desolation during the Babylonian Exile. Other visions announced the rebuilding of the Temple and the world's recognition of Yahweh, Israel's God. Deutero- and Trito-Zechariah are separate collections of sayings usually dated to the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, respectively. They develop Zechariah's eschatological themes and provide many images of a messianic figure that were borrowed by New Testament writers and applied to the figure of Jesus.

- Malachi, also called The Prophecy of Malachias, is the last of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the Minor Prophets, grouped together as the Twelve in the Jewish canon. The author is unknown. The book consists of six sections in the form of a question-and-answer discussion. In this way the prophet defends the justice of God to a community that had begun to doubt that justice because its eschatological (end of the world) expectations were still unfulfilled. The author calls for fidelity to Yahweh's Covenant. He emphasizes the necessity of proper worship, condemns divorce, and announces that the Day of Judgment is imminent. Faithfulness to these cultic and moral responsibilities will be rewarded; unfaithfulness will bring a curse. The book belongs to the first half of the 5th century BC.

A.5- Apocrypha

- Jeremiah, The Letter of, is also called The Epistle Of Jeremias, is an apocryphal book of the Old Testament. In the Roman canon it is a sixth chapter to the book of Baruch (itself apocryphal in the Jewish and Protestant canons). The work appears as a letter sent by Jeremiah to Jews exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadrezzar in 597 BC; it is not a letter and it was not written by Jeremiah. It is a polemic against the worship of idols stating that false gods shall perish. Possibly composed about 300 BC by a Jew living in Babylonia, the text states that idolatry threatened fidelity to the God of Israel. The author's primary target was probably the Babylonian deity Tammuz, an agricultural god whose cult was associated with orgiastic fertility rites. Certain linguistic and stylistic elements point to an original composition in Hebrew or Aramaic.

- Maccabees, also spelled Machabees, are four books, none of which is in the Hebrew Bible, but all of which appear in some manuscripts of the Septuagint. The first two books only are part of canonical scripture in the Septuagint and the Vulgate (hence are canonical to Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy) and are included in the Protestant Apocrypha.

- Solomon (Wisdom of) is a "wisdom" religious literature, which commends a life of introspection and reflection on human existence, especially from an ethical perspective. It is an apocryphal work, non-canonical for Jews and Protestants, but it is included in the Septuagint, and was accepted into the Roman canon. Wisdom is depicted as a feminine personification of an attribute of God; she is "a breath of the power of God, and a clear effluence of the glory of the Almighty." The Logos theology of the Christian Church Fathers was developed from this concept to explain Jesus Christ's relationship to God. Written by a Jew in Alexandria during the 1st century BC, the book was a defence of Judaism, for, in describing Jewish doctrines in terms of Hellenistic philosophy, it showed that philosophical truths were applicable to the Jewish concept of God. Its argument was directed both to the Jews of the Diaspora who had adopted pagan gods and to the rigorist Jews who in the same environment advocated complete religious and social isolation.

A.6 Apocalyptic Literature

This is a literary genre that flourished from about 200 BC to about AD 200, especially in Judaism and Christianity. Written primarily to give hope to religious groups undergoing persecution or the stress of cultural upheavals, apocalypses (from the Greek apokalypsis: "revelation") describe in cryptic language, understood by believers, the sudden, dramatic intervention of God in history on behalf of the faithful elect. Accompanying or heralding God's dramatic intervention in human affairs will be cataclysmic events of cosmic proportions, such as a temporary rule of the world by Satan, signs in the heavens, persecutions, wars, famines, and plagues. These writers generally concentrated on the future, for instance the future overthrow of evil, on the coming of a messianic figure, and on the establishment of the Kingdom of God and of eternal peace and righteousness. The wicked are described as consigned to hell and the righteous or elect as reigning with God or a messiah in a renewed earth or heaven. The Book of Daniel in the Old Testament represents apocalyptic writing, and several inter-testamental books contain apocalyptic themes.

- Moses, Assumption of, is a pseudepigraphal work not included in any biblical canon, a prophecy of the future relating to Israel, put into the mouth of Moses and addressed to Joshua just before the great lawgiver died. Using Moses' predictions and instructions to Joshua as a framework, the book's unknown author sets forth a brief history of Israel from Moses to the messianic age as viewed in apocalyptic terms. The tone of the work is decidedly negative toward the fusion of politics with religion and condemns the Hasmonean leaders who ruled Judaea after the Maccabean revolt of 167-142 BC. The most striking feature of the work is the writer's scathing condemnation of the priesthood before, during, and after the Maccabean period, obviously meant as an attack on the Sadducean high priests of his own time. The author predicts that eventually a mighty king will persecute the true Jewish religion. The book was originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, but the only extant text is a Latin translation; the book was written in 4 or 3 BC or shortly thereafter, probably in Palestine.

- Solomon (Psalms of) is a pseudepigraphal work, not in any biblical canon, comprising 18 psalms that were originally written in Hebrew, although only Greek and Syriac translations survive. Like the canonical Psalms, the Psalms of Solomon contains hymns, poems of admonition and instruction, and songs of thanksgiving and lamentation. Some of these psalms also contain technical musical notations suggesting that they were used in Jewish cultic rites. Many of them express belief in resurrection and free will, and two reveal messianic expectations.

B- Talmud, a collection of Jewish civil and religious law, including commentaries on the Torah, or Pentateuch.

- Midrash (Hebrew for interpretation") is a term applied to Jewish writings on the Scriptures. These are interpretations by different rabbis of the laws and customs found in the Old Testament. The earliest Midrashic writings appeared before 100 BC. The Midrash is divided into three groups; the abstract Halakah, consisting of the traditional law; the Halakic Midrash, a deduction of the traditional law from the written law; and the Haggadic Midrash, legends, sermons, and interpretations of the Bible and concerning ethics and theology rather than law.

- Mishnah -also spelled Mishna ("Repeated Study"), plural Mishnayot- is the oldest collection and codification of Jewish oral laws, compiled by numerous scholars (called tannaim) over a period of about two centuries. The codification became final in the early 3rd century AD by Judah ha-Nasi. The Mishna supplements the written, or scriptural, laws found in the Pentateuch. It presents various interpretations of legal traditions that had been preserved orally since at least the time of Ezra (circa 450 BC). Study of the Mishna by later scholars (called amoraim) in Palestine and Babylonia resulted in a second collection of interpretations called the Gemara, or Talmud. In the broader sense, the Mishna and Gemara together make up the Talmud. The Mishna comprises six major sections, or orders (sedarim), that contain 63 tractates (massekhtaot), each of which is divided into chapters. Zera'im ("Seeds"), the first order of the Mishna, has 11 tractates. It begins by discussing daily prayer and then devotes 10 tractates to religious laws about agriculture. Zera'im discusses the prescription that fields must periodically lie fallow, the prohibition on plant hybridisation, and regulates what portion of a harvest is to be given to priests, to Levites (a priestly clan), and to the poor. The second order, Mo'ed ("Festival"), consists of 12 tractates that deal with ceremonies, rituals, observances, and prohibitions related to the Sabbath, to religious festivals, to fast days, and to such other days as are marked by regular religious observance. Nashim ("Women"), the third order of the Mishna, discusses married life in seven tractates. It explains religious laws concerning betrothals, marriage contracts, divorce, bills of divorce, and certain ascetic vows that affect married life. The fourth order, Neziqin ("Damages"), has 10 tractates covering civil and criminal law as related to damages, theft, labour relations, usury, real estate, partnerships, tenant relations, inheritance, court composition, jurisdiction and testimony, erroneous decisions of the Sanhedrin (high court), and physical punishments, including death. Idolatry, which is punishable by death, is also discussed. Qodashim ("Holy Things"), the fifth order, provides a description of the Temple of Jerusalem and discusses laws regulating Temple sacrifices, other offerings, and donations. It has 11 tractates. The last of the Mishna orders is Tohorot ("Purifications"), divided into 12 tractates. It considers laws regarding the ritual purity of vessels, dwellings, foods, and persons and deals with various rituals of purification.

C- Various Writings

- Abodah Zarah (Idolatry), one of the tractates of the fourth division (Nezikin, Damages) of the Mishnah and Talmud.

- Aboth (The Fathers) or Pirke Aboth (Sayings of the Fathers), a collection of ethical maxims, one of the tractates of the fourth division (Nezikin, Damages) of the Mishnah.

- Agadah Bereshith, a Hebrew commentary on Genesis (Bereshith).

- Amos, one of 12 books known as the Minor Prophets included in the Old Testament noted for its pastoral imagery and poetic language. Its author is said to be Amos, a herdsman who lived in the 8th century BC.

- Antiquitates Judaicae (The Antiquities of the Jews), completed in 20 books in AD 93, traces the history of the Jews from creation to just before the outbreak of the revolt of AD 66-70. It was an attempt to present Judaism to the Hellenistic world in a favourable light, by Josephus Flavius.

- Baba Mezia (Middle Gate), one of the tractates of the fourth division (Nezikin, Damages) of the Mishnah and Talmud.

- Bellum Judaicum (History of the Jewish War), the revolt against the Romans, by Josephus Flavius.

- Berakoth (Benedictions), the first tractate of the first division (Zeraim, Seeds) of the Mishnah and Talmud.

- Biblical Laws, Commentary on, a fragmentary Dead Sea Scroll found at Qumran, Statutes referring to Deuteronomy and Exodus.

- Contra Apionem (Against Apion, though the earlier titles Concerning the Antiquity of the Jews and Against the Greeks are more apposite_) a defence against anti-Semitism, by Josephus Flavius.

- Chronicle, Book of the, a narrative part of the Old Testament, first divided in the Septuagint. Chronicles begin with Adam and goes beyond the last king of Judah. It was probably completed in the third century BC.

- Damascus Document also known as Damascus Rule and Zadokite Work. It is a Hebrew exhortation and list of statutes found in the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran.

- Erubin (The Fusion of the Sabbath Limits), one of the Tractates of the Second Division) Moed, Set Feasts) of the Mishnah and Talmud.

- Genesis Apocryphon, a pseudepigraphal work (not accepted in any canon of scripture), one of the most important works of the Essene community of Jews; it was discovered in 1947 in Qumran, near the Dead Sea. The entire scroll is a collection of apocryphal embellishments on leading figures in Genesis. Written in Palestine in Aramaic, the scroll is the earliest example of a pseudepigraphal work in that language. It dates from either the 1st century BC or AD. The date of the original text is unknown.

- Genesis Rabba, part of the Hebrew Midrash Rabba.

- Habakkuk Commentaries, one of the writings of the sect of Qumran found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

- Hymns scrolls or "Thanksgiving Scrolls", one of the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran on the Dead Sea. It comprises more than 24 hymns or psalms of thanksgiving.

- Kiddusshin (Betrothals), one of the tractates of the third division (Nashim, women) of the Mishnah and Talmud.

- Leviticus Rabba, a part of the Hebrew Midrash Rabba.

- Manual of Discipline (Community Rule), an Essene important document found at Qunran. One of the oldest Dead Sea Scrolls, probably from the later 2d century BC.

- Megillah or Megilla, (in Hebrew Megillah ("Scroll"), plural Megillot). In the Hebrew Bible it describes any of the five sacred books of the Ketuvim (the third division of the Old Testament), in scroll form, that are read in the synagogue in the course of certain festivals.

- Messianic Rule (or Rules of the Congregation), one of the writings on the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qunram.

- Midrash Rabba, one of the most important Midrashim: on the Pentateuch and five other Old Testament books.

- Niddah (the Menstruant), one of the tractates of the sixth division (Tohoroth, Cleanliness) of the Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud. Part of it also appears in the Palestinian (Jerusalem) Talmud.

- Pentateuch (Greek penta, "five"; teuch, "book"), this word designates the first five books of the Old Testament that is, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

- Priests (Blessing of the), part of a collection of blessings originally attached to the Dead Sea Scroll of the Community Rule and the Messianic Rule found at Qumran.

- Psalms of Solomon, a collection of 18 Jewish poems by Pharisee authors, not forming part of the Old Testament or Apocrypha. They still exist in Greek and Syrian versions; they include references to the capture of Jerusalem by the Romans under Pompey in 63BC and to his death in 48 BC.

- Sophia of Solomon.

- Talmud, this is the collection of Jewish civil and religious laws, including commentaries on the Torah, or Pentateuch.

- Temple scroll, a scroll over 28 feet long, it is the largest of the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran. It deals with rules, ceremonials, the building of the Temple, and the king and the army.

- Torah, this is the "book" of Jewish religion and law. The term Torah also describes the entire corpus of the Scriptures of the Jews together with the commentaries.

- Vita (Life), less an autobiography than an apology for Josephus' conduct in Galilee during the revolt. It was written to defend himself against the charges of his enemy Justus of Tiberias, who claimed that Josephus was responsible for the revolt, by Josephus Flavius.

- War Scroll or Rule (The War of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness), one of the writings of the community at Qumran, probably written in the later first century BC or early first century AD. It describes the events that will precede the forthcoming end of the world.

- Yebamoth (Sisters-in-Law), one of the tractates of the third division (Nashim, Women) of the Mishnah and Talmud.

- Zohar (Book of Splendour), a description of the different aspects of God,

said to have been written by an ancient sage named Simeon bar Yohai but modern scholars believe that the mystic Moses de Leon wrote it.

5- Others

- Acharnians, a comedy by Aristophanes.

- Acts of Andrew, apocryphal writing attributed to St Andrew, the Apostle.

- Acts of Andrew and Matthias, apocryphal writing attributed to St Andrew, the Apostle.

- Acts of Peter and Andrew, apocryphal writing attributed to St Andrew, the Apostle.

- Against a Stepmother, by Antiphon.

- Aurora (1612), revelations upon God, humanity, nature, shows deep knowledge of the Scriptures, and of alchemistry, by Jakob Böehme.

- Babylonians, an early comedy by Aristophanes, it is extant only in fragments.

- Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866), by Herman Melville.

- Billy Budd, by Herman Melville.

- Birds, a comedy by Aristophanes.

- Brutus, by Cicero.

- Cabala del cavallo Pegaseo (1585; "Cabal of the Horse Pegasus"), pessimistic work, includes a discussion of the relationship between the human soul and the universal soul by Bruno, Giordano.

- Cena de le Ceneri (1584; "The Ash Wednesday Supper") includes six dialogues, three cosmological and three moral dialogues by Bruno, Giordano.

- Clouds, a comedy by Aristophanes.

- Confidence-Man (The) (1857), a despairing satire on an America corrupted by the shabby dreams of commerce, by Herman Melville.

- Das Buch Annette ("The Book Annette", by Goethe.

- Das Leipziger Liederbuch (The Leipzig Song Book), inspired by the daughter of the wine merchant at whose tavern he took his midday meal, by Goethe.

- De Consolatione Philosophiae (The Consolation of Philosophy, c. 523), by Boethius.

- De finibus in 45, by Cicero.

- De gli eroici furori (1585; The Heroic Frenzies), using Neoplatonic imagery, it describes the attainment of union with the infinite One by the human soul and exhorts man to the conquest of virtue and truth by Bruno, Giordano.

- De la causa, principio e uno (1584; Concerning the Cause, Principle, and One), is a physical theory on which a new conception of the universe is based: "form" and "matter" are intimately united and constitute the "one", by Bruno, Giordano.

- De natura deorum, by Cicero.

- De legibus (52), by Cicero.

- De l'infinito universo e mondi (1584; On the Infinite Universe and Worlds), a cosmological theory that criticize Aristotelian physics, by Bruno, Giordano.

- Demian (1919,) is an examination of the achievement of self-awareness by a troubled adolescent, by Hermann Hesse.

- De officiis, finished after Caesar's murder, in 44, by Cicero.

- De oratore (55), by Cicero. - Election of Grace (On the), 1623, by Jakob Böehme.

- De republica (started in 54, finished in 52), by Cicero.

- Dichtung und Wahrheit ("Poetry and Truth"), Goethe's autobiography, an unforgettable picture of a happy childhood, by Goethe.

- Die Laune des Verliebten ("The Mood of the Beloved"), by Goethe. - Epistola de fide, vita et obitu Wulfilae, an Arian work by Auxentius.

- Die Mitschuldigen ("The Accomplices"), a more sombre farce that foreshadows the psychological preoccupations of later works, by Goethe.

- Faust by Goethe.

- Frogs, a comedy by Aristophanes.

- Gertrud (1910) where the inward and outward search of the artist is further explored, by Hermann Hesse.

- Glasperlenspiel (Das) 1943; English titles The Glass Bead Game, or Magister Ludi, explores the dualism of the contemplative and the active life through the figure of a supremely gifted intellectual, by Hermann Hesse.

- Great Mystery (The), 1623, by Jakob Böehme.

- Grossen Wundartzney (Der), "Great Surgery Book", by Paracelsus, 1536.

- Hadith (the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad), the 99 "most beautiful names" (al-asma' al-husna) of God, and these names have become objects of devoted recitation and meditation, inspired by Allah.

- John Marr, and Other Sailors; With Some Sea-Pieces, appeared in 1888, by Herman Melville.

- Kategoriai, commentaries by Boethius.

- Knights, a comedy by Aristophanes.

- Life of Agricola, a biography of his father-in-law, by Tacitus.

- Lysistrata, a comedy by Aristophanes.

- Moby Dick, the story of Captain Ahab's pursuit of a white whale is a literary myth, by Herman Melville.

- Monas Hieroglyphica, by John Dee, 1564.

- Narziss und Goldmund (1930; Narcissus and Goldmund), an intellectual ascetic who is content with established religious faith is contrasted with an artistic sensualist pursuing his own form of salvation, by Hermann Hesse.

- Neue Lieder ("New Songs", 1769), made no pretense of real passion, by Goethe.

- Omoo (1847) is a following of the events described in Tipee and their sequels. Light-hearted in tone, with the mutiny shown as something of a farce, it describes the author travels through the islands, accompanied by Long Ghost, formerly the ship's doctor, now turned drifter. The carefree roving confirmed the author's bitterness against colonial and, especially, missionary debasement of the native Tahitian peoples, by Herman Melville.

- On the Choreutes, by Antiphon.

- On the murder of Herodes, by Antiphon.

- Orator in 46, by Cicero.

- Paradoxa, by Cicero.

- Peace, a comedy by Aristophanes.

- Peri hermeneias, commentaries by Boethius.

- Peter Camenzind, about a failed and dissipated writer, by Hermann Hesse. - Phaenomena (The), a didactic poem in hexameters on astronomy, the only completely extant work of Aratus of Macedonia.

- Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), 1687, one of the most important single works in the history of modern science, by Isaac Newton.

- Pierre (1852), an intensely personal work, revealing the sombre mythology of his private life framed in terms of a story of an artist alienated from his society, by Herman Melville.

- Psychologische Typen (1921; Psychological Types) describes Jung's wide scholarship, by Carl Yung.

- Qur'an, inspired by Allah.

- Rerum gestarum libri ("The Chronicles of Events"), a Latin history of the Roman Empire from the accession of Nerva to the death of Valens, by Ammianus Marcellinus.

- Rosshalde (1914), by Hermann Hesse.

- Seven Sermons of the Dead, 1917, by Carl Jung.

- Siddhartha (1922) describes a visit to India, a lyric novel based on the early life of Buddha, by Hermann Hesse.

- Spaccio de la bestia trionfante (1584; The Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast) a satire on contemporary superstitions and vices, embodying a strong criticism of Christian ethics -particularly the Calvinistic principle of salvation by faith alone by Bruno, Giordano.

- Steppenwolf (Der), 1927 (The Steppenwolf) describes the conflict between bourgeois acceptance and spiritual self-realization in a middle-aged man. by Hermann Hesse.

- Syntagmation, by Asterius the Sophist, survives only in quotations by his opponents Athanasius and Marcellus of Ancyra.

- Tetralogies, 12 speeches arranged in three sets of four, which were composed as exercises for the instruction of students. Each tetralogy consists of two speeches each for the defence and the prosecution in a homicide case, by Antiphon.

- Thalia ("Banquet"), a Neoplatonism poem that describes the absolute oneness of the divinity as the highest perfection, with a literal, rationalist approach to the New Testament texts. This point of view was widely spread by popular songs written for labourers and travellers, by Arius.

- Timoleon (1891), a final verse collection, by Herman Melville.

- Typee, the story of the author and a companion jumping ship and spending four months as guest-captives of the reputedly cannibalistic Typee people. The book describes the exotic valley of the Typees as an idyllic sanctuary from a hustling, aggressive civilization, by Herman Melville.

- Tusculanae disputationes, by Cicero.

- Unterm Rad (Beneath the Wheel, 1906), a novelin that an overly diligent student is driven to self-destruction, by Hermann Hesse.

- Wandlungen und Symbole der Libido (Psychology of the Unconscious, 1916), a treaty which ran counter to many of Freud's ideas, by Carl Yung.

- Wasps, a comedy by Aristophanes.

- Wealth a comedy by Aristophanes.

- Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre (1821-29; "Wilhelm Meister's Travels"), a commitment to social and technological progress by Goethe.

- Women at the Ecclesia, a comedy by Aristophanes.

- Women at the Thesmophoria, a comedy by Aristophanes.

Part V: Modern names and locations of ancient places

Old names Abdera (old city) Abydos (old Egyptian city, ruins) Acarnania (region) Achaea (Roman province Acragas (old city) Acre (old city) Actium (city) Adiabene (kingdom) Adramyttium Adrianople/Hadrianople/Hadrianopolis Ægæ Aegina (island) Aelia Capitolina (Roman city) Aeolis or Aeolia (ancient cities) Agade (old Semitic city) Agyrium (old city) Aigai (old capital city, Macedonia) Akhmim (old city) Akkad (region) Alba Longa Albania (kingdom) Albanopolis (city) Albiga Alesia Alexander Troas Alexandria Amaseia (capital, Pontic Kingdom) Ambracia (old Corinthian city) Amiternum (old Sabine city) Amorium (old city) Amphidpolis Anathod (old city, Judah) Anatolia (or Asia Minor) (region) Ancyra (city) Ancyrona (city) Andes (old city) Andros (island) Anshan (old city) Antalya Anthedon Antioch (Syrian) Antium Apamea (Cibotus), old Phrygian city Apamea (old city) Apennines (mountains) Apollonia Aquileia (old Roman city) Aquitania (region) Arabah (Wadi al-) (region) Arabestan (region) Aram (region) Arcadia (region) Ardea Arelate (old city, Viennensis) Argolis (region) Argos (capital city, Argolis) Arianzus (old city) Arimathea (old city) Armenia (kingdom) Arpinum (city) Artaxta Ascalon Ascra (old city) Ashdod (city on the sea, ruins) Ashtishat (old city, Armenia) Ashur (religious capital of Assyria) Asia Minor (or Anatolia) (region) Asphaltitis (lake) Aspuna (old city) Assos Assus (ancient Greek city) Assyria (kingdom, North Mesopotamia) Astacus (or Olbia)-Old city Athens Atropatene (country, northern Media) Attica (region) Avernus (lake) Awan (old city) Babylon (city) Babylonia (region) Bactria Bad-tibira (old city, Mesopotamia) Baetica (region) Batanaea (old city) Baucalis Baiae (old city, ruins) Balla (old capital, Masedonia) Batanaea (old city) Bedriacum Beersheba, Palestine (old city) Bene Beraq (ancient city) Benzart (city) Beroea (old city) Berytus, Berytos, Berot Bethany (old village) Bethel (ancient city, ruins) Betheunabris Bethlehem (old city) Bethoron Bethsaida (old city, Galilee) Bithynia (region, Roman province) Bodotria (river) Boeotia (region) Boetia (region) Bône (city) Borissus (old city Cappadocia) Boroea Borsippa (Babylonian city, ruins) Bosphorus (strait Black Sea/ Sea of Marmara ) Bostra (old Syrian city, ruins) Braga or Bracara Augusta, (old city) Brixellum Britain (region) Brundisium Busiris (old city) Byblos, biblical Gebal Byzantine Empire Byzantium (city) Byzantium (empire) Cadmea (old Mycenaean-Minoan city) Caesaraugusta (old city) Cæsarea Palestinae (or Marina) Port Caesarea, Cappodocia (old city) Cæsarea Mazaea (city) Camerium Campania (region) Camulodunum Canaan (region) Cannae (village) Capernaum (city) Caphtor (country) Cappadocia (Roman province) Capri (Island) Capua Carchemish (old city state) Carrhae (battle, desert) Caria (region) Carthage (Phoenician city, ruins) Castores Cataractonium  (old city, fort) Caystrus (river); Cayster Cellia (old city) Cenchreæ Chaeronea (old Greek city) Chalcedon (maritime city) Chalcis (city) Chalcis (old city) Chalcis (City State) Chaldea (region) Chernoboskion (old city) Cheronaea (battle) Chersonese Tauric (old region) Chersonese Thracian (old region) Chersonesus (old city) Chios (Island) Chrysopolis (old city, Bithynia) Cilicia (region) Cilician Gates (mountain pass) Citium (old Phoenician city, ruins) Clazomenae (ancient Greek city) Clota (river) Coele Syria (region) Colchis (region) Colonae (old city) Colophon (ancient Greek city, ruins) Colossæ Commagene (region) Concordia (old city) Constantia (old city, ruins) Constantinople (before, Byzantium) Cordova or Corduba (old city) Corinth Cos (Island) Cranganore Cremonia Crete (Roman province) Croton (harbour, city) Ctesiphon Cumae (ancient Greek city, ruins) Cyme (old city, Aeolia) Cyndus (river) Cynoscephalae, (Boeotia mountain) Cyprus, (Roman province) Cyrenaica (region) Cyrene Cyzicus (city) Dacia (region) Dakora (old city, Cappodocia) Dalmatia (Roman province) Damascus Dazimon (old city and fortress) Delos (island) Delphi Derbe Dibon (capital city of Moab) Diospolis (Roman colony) Divodurum Dobruja (region) Dolikha (old city) Dor or Dora, old harbour Eboracum (old city) Ecbatana (capital city of Media) Eclanum (old city) Edessa (City State) Edessa (old city) Edfu (old city) Edom (region) Ekron (old Philistine city) Elam (region) Elea (old Greek city, ruins) Elephantine (Island) Eleusis (Greek city) Eleutheropolis (old city, Judaea) Elis (region) Elis (old city state) Elvira (old city) Emmaus (old city, Judaea) Emesa (old city) Engaddi Ephesus (old Greek city, ruins) Epidaurus (city, ruins) Epirus (region) Erytheia (island) Erythrae (ancient Greek city) Eshnunna (ancien city) Etruria (region) Euboea (island) Euphrates (river) Eusebia (old city) Fair Havens (harbour) Fondi (old city of Volsci people) Formiae (city) Fucine Lake Gabala (old city) Gabao Gadara Gaeta (old harbour city) Galatia (region) Galilee (region) Gamala Ganges (river) Gangites (river) Gangra (old city, Galatia) Gath (Royal city of the Philistines) Gaul (Roman province) Gaulanitis (region) Gaza (region) Gazaca (capital city) Gela (city) Gennesaret (lake) Geresa (Gerasa) Gerizzim (mountain) Germanicia (old city, Asia Monor) Gethsemane (mount) Gezer (old Canaanite city) Gihon (old city) Ginæ Gischala Gitta (old village, Samaria) Golgotha Gophna Gordium (ancient Anatolian City) Gordyene (region) Gundeshapur (old city) Halab, Aleppo Halicarnassus (Greek city, Caria) Hamadan (old city) Hamah (old city) Hamath (region) Harran (or Haran) – old city Hattusa (city) Hazor (old city) Helenopolis (old city) Heliopolis (old Egyptian city, ruin) Heraclea (old city) Heraclea Pontica (old Megarian city) Herculaneum Hermus (city) Herodium Hierakompolis or Nekhem, (old city) Hierapolis (old Phrygian city) Hierapolis (old Syrian city) Himera (old city, ruins) Hippo (or Hippo Regius) Hippo Diasshytus (or Hippo Zaritus) Hostilia Hyacrania Hyrcania (region) Iberia (kingdom) Ibora (old city, Pontus) Iconium Idumaea (region) Illyricum/Illyria (Roman prov. Gaul) India (region) Ionia (region) Ipsus (city) Isin (old Mesopotamian city) Issus Isurium (Old city) Italica, Baetica Ithaca (island) Ituraea Jaffa or Joffa (city on the sea) Jamnia Japha Jericho (old city) Jerusalem (old city) Jezreel (old city, Palestine, ruins) Jezreel (old city in Judah, ruins) Joppa, Jaffa (old city) Jotapata Judaea (region) Judah (kingdom) Kawm Umbu (old city) Khmunu or Hermopolis Magna, old city Khuzistan (region) Kibossa (old city) Kish (old city state, Mesopotamiia) Kittim (country) Knossos (ancient city, ruins) Lagash or Girsu (old Sumerian city) Lake Bolhe (lake) Lampsacus (ancient Greek city) Laodicea ad Lycum Laodicea ad Mare Larissa (old city) Larsa (old capital city, Babylonia) Lasea Latium (old region) Lavinium (old city of Latium) Lebedus (old Greek city) Lemovices (old city, Aquitania) Lérins (island, monastery) Lerna (old city) Lesbos (island) Leucas (island) Leuctra Libya (nation) Lilybaeum (old Carthaginian city) Locri Epizephyrii (old Greek city) Lower Germany (Roman province) Lucania (region) Lugdunum Lycaonia (region) Lycia (maritime district) Lyco or Lycopolis (old city) Lydda (old city) Lydia (region) Lystra, Lycaonia (old city) Macedonia Macherus Madauros (old city) Maeander Magdala (old city) Magna Graecia (old Greek cities) Magnesia ad Maeandrum (city, Ionia) Magnesia ad Sipylum (city, Lydia) Malea (cape) Malies (Maleventum, Malventum) city Mananali (s) (old city) Mantineia (ancien Greek city) Marathon, plain, northeastern Attica Mari (old city) Masada (fortress, ruins) Massalia Mauretania Mazaca (old city) Media or Medes (countey) Megara (old city) Megido (old city) Melita (island) Melitene (old city) Memphis (old capital city) Mercia (old Anglo-Saxon kingdom) Meron (old settlement Mesopotamia (region) Messana, Zancle (city) Metapontum (old Greek city, ruins) Midas City Midian (old city) Miletus (ancient Greek city) Milid (olf Hittite city) Minturnae (city) Misenum Mitylene Moab (country) Moesia (region) Mohhamerah (harbour city) Mona (island) Mopsuestia (old city, Cilicia) Moravia (country) Mosul (old city) Motya (island) Mount Cyllene (Arcadia) Mount Gerizim (mountain) Mount Ida (mountain) Mount of Olives (mountain) Mount Olympus (mountain) Mount Pisgah (mountain) Mount Sinai Mursa (old city) Mycenae (very old Greek city, ruins) Mylae (city) Myra Mysia (region) Mythilene Myus (old Greek city) Nabatea (region) Naissur (city) Narbonese Gaul (region) Naucratis (Site of Greek settlement) Nauplia (ancient city) Nazareth (city) Nazianzus (old city) Nekhem or Hierakompolis (old city) Neopolis Neapolis Neapolis (old city Palestine) Neocaesarea,Pontus-Polemoniaus, city Nerida (old city) Neronias (old city Cilicia) Nicaea Nicomedia (old city) Nicopolis Actia (capital city) Nineveh, (city Assyrian Empire) Nisibis (city) Nitrian desert Nola Novum Comum, Transpadane, Gaul Nubia (region) Numidia (Roman province) Nysa (imaginary vale) Nysa (old city) Nyssa (old city, Cappadocia) Ocriculum Oechalia (old kingdom) Olbia (Greek colony) Olicana (old city) Orchomenus (old Greek city, ruins) Ostia Padua (city) Palmyra (old city) Pamphylia (maritime district) Pandateria (island Pannonia (Roman province) Panopolis (old city) Paphlagonia (region, Anatolia) Paphos Parthia (region) Parthia (empire) Patara Patavium (old city) Patrai or Patras or Patræ Pella Peloponnese (region) Peraea (region) Perga (ancien city, Pamphylia ruins) Pergamum (Attalid) (city, ruins) Pergamum (kingdom) Persia (empire) Petovio (old city, Illyricum) Phaleron (city) Pharan (old city, monastery) Philadelphia Philippi Phintias (ancient city, ruins) Pithecussae (old Euobean city) Phocaea (ancient Greek city) Phoenicia Phoenix Phrygia (region) Piræus (harbour) Pisidia (region) Pisidian Antioch Placentia Plataea (old city, Boetia, Greece) Pompeii Pontia (isle) Pontic (kingdom) Pontus (region) Priene (ancient Greek city, ruins) Prinkipo (island) Propontis (sea) Ptolemais Puteoli Pydna (old city, now Kitos) Ravenna Rhages (old Persian city) Rhaithu (old harbour) Rhegium Rhodes (city) Rhodes (island) Salamis (city, ruins) Salamis (island, town) Samaria (region) Samaria City (old city, ruins) Samnium old region) Samos (island) Samosata (old village) Samothrace (island) Sangarius (region) Sardis (old capital, Lydia, ruins) Scodra (city) Scythia (region) Scythopolis Sebaste Seleucia on Tigris - Old Greek city Seleucia Pieria (city) Seleucia Tracheotis (city) Seleucid (kingdom) Sepphoris Serdica or Sardica (old city) Shechem (old city, ruins) Sicca Veneria (old city) Side (old harbour city, Pamphylia) Sidon (old city) Simash (old city) Sind (region) Singara (old city, Mesopotamia) Sinope (harbour city) Sirmium (old city, Pannonia) Sisan (old city, Cilicia) Siscia (old city) Smyrna (city) Socotra Sogdiana (country) Soli (ancient seaport) Soli (ancient Greek city) Sozopolis, pidia, Asia Minor - City Spain (Roman province) Sparta (city state) Stabiae (old city, ruins) Stagira Stridon (old city) Subiaco (city) Sulmo (old city) Sumer (region) Susa (capital city of Elam) Sybaris (ancient Greek city, ruins) Syene (old city) Symbola (old city) Syracuse Syria (Roman province) Tabennisi (old city, region) Tadmor/Tadmur/Tudmur (old city) Tagaste (city) Taginae (site of battle) Tarentum (city) Taricheæ Tarracina Tarsus (old city, Cilicia) Taurus (mountain) Tekoa (old city, ruins) Tenedos (island) Teos (old Greek city) Thasos (island) Thebes (city) Thebes (city) Thermopylae (mountain pass) Thessalonica Thmuis (old city) Thrace (region) Tiberias (Palestine) Tigranocerta Tirathaba Tomis (old Greek city) Trachonitis (region) Trachonitis (old city) Trastevere (neighborhood) Trebizond (old city) Treveris, Augusta Treverorum (city) Trier (city) Troas or Troad (region) Troy (old city, ruins) Turan (region) Tusculum Tyana (old city, Cappadocia) Tyre (old Phoenician city) Ugarit (old city, ruins) Umma (old city, Mesopotamia) Upper Germany (Roman province) Ur (ancient city, ruins) Uruk (old Sumerian city) Vagarshapat (old city) Venice Verona Vesontio Villanova (old village, ruins) Vindobona (old city) Vinovium (old city) Vraja (old city) Xanthus (city of Lycia) Xois (old city) Zadracarta (old capita of Hyrcania) Zebulon (region) Zefat (or Safed) old city Zion (hill)

Modern names Ávdhira, Greece al-'Arabat al-Madfuna, Egypt Land along Ionian Sea, Greece North coast of Peloponnese,Greece Agrigento, south cost Sicily, Italy Akko, Israel Western coast of Greece North East Iraq-North West Iran Edremit, West Turkey Edirne, extreme western Turkey Yumurtalik, South East Turkey Aiyina, Greece On Jerusalem ruins (AD135), Israel West coast of Anatolia, Turkey Central Iraq Sicily, Italy Possibly Edessa, Macedonia, Greece Upper Egypt Central Iraq Castel Gondolfo, Central Italy Azerbaijan, North Iran Armenia Albi, France Alise-Ste.Reine, France Ruins, Bozcaada, North West Turkey Alexandria, North Egypt Amasya, Anatolia, Turkey Arta, Greece San Vittorino  near L’Aquila, Italy Asia Minor, Turkey Amfipolis, North East Greece Israel Asian part of Turkey Ankara, nortwestern Turkey Near Izmir, Turkey Near Mantua (Mantova), Italy A Cyclade Greek Aegean Island Khuzestan, South western Iran Antalya, South Turkey Ruins in Central Greece Antakya, East Turkey Anzio, West Central Italy Dinar, Turkey Near Hims, Syria North Central Italy Apollonia, North East Greece Aquileia, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, It. Aquitaine, Southwestern France South Israel and Jordan Khuzista, South Western Iran Northern Iraq Central Peloponnnesus, Greece Site West of Rome, Italy Arles, South of France NE Peloponnese, southern Greece Northeastern Peloponnese, Greece Near Narzianzus, Asia Minor, Turkey Israel (?) Armenia –North East Turkey Arpino, Italy Site near Yerevan, Armenia Ashquelon, South West Israel Near Mount Helicon, Greece Ashdod, Israel-7km from old city Turkey (?) Northern Iraq Asian part of Turkey Dead Sea, SE Israel-SW Jordan In Galatia, Central Turkey Behramkale, West Turkey Site on the coast, NW Turkey Regions of N.Iraq and S.E.Turkey Izmit, nothwestern Turkey Athens, Greece Northern Media Eastcentral Greece, main town Athens Averno, South West Italy Khuzestan, South western Iran Ruins near al-Hillah, Iraq Southern Iraq Afganistan, Tajikistan-Uzbekistan Madinah, Iraq (?) South of Spain South Syria Site in or near Alexandria, Egypt Campania, Italy Italy Verghina, northern Greece Syria (?) Site in North Italy Beersheba, southern Israel Suburb of Tel Aviv-Yafo, W.C. Israel Bizerte, Tunisia Veroia, Imathia, Greece Beirut, Lebanon Outside Jerusalem, Israel North of Jerusalem, Israel Ruins at Tall Nimrin, West Jordan Bethlehem, near Jerusalem, Israel Bayt Ur al Fawqa, Jerusalem, Israel Israel (?) Anatolia, North Central Turkey Forth River, Scotland, Great Britain Voiotia, Greece Central Greece Annaba, Algeria Near Kayseri, Turkey Veroi, North Greece Near Babylon, central Iraq Turkey Near Damascus, Syria Braga, northern Portugal Site on PO River, North Italy England Brindisi, South East Italy Lower Egypt Jubayl, also spelled Jebeil, Lebanon Eastern half of the Roman Empire Constantinople (Istanboul), Turkey Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire Greece (?) Spain(?) Ruins near Horbat Qesari, Israel Kayseri, Turkey Anatolia, Turkey Site North East of Rome West Central Italy Colchester, England Israel, part of Syria Puglia, southeastern Italy N.W. shore, Sea of Galilee, Israel Possibly Crete (?) East Central Anatolia, Turkey Capri, off South West Italy Capua, West Central Italy South Turkey, near Jarabulus, Syria South Turkey Southwestern Anatolia, Turkey Carthage, near Tunis, North Tunisia Site near Cremona, Italy Cattherick, England Kucuk Menderes, West Turkey Nitrian desert, Egypt Cenchraæ, South East Greece Khairónia, Boeotia, Greece Kadiköy, near Istambul, Turkey Khalkis, on Island of Euboea, Greece Lebanon Chalcis, North Syria South Iraq-Kuwait-Iran Near Thebes, Egypt Greece (?) Crimea, Ukraine Galipoli Peninsula, Turkey Near Sevastopol, Ukraine Khios, Greece, off West Turkey Uskudar,Nortwestern Anatolia, Turkey South East Turkey North of Tarsus, South East Turkey Near Larnaca, SE coast, Cyprus West of Izmir, Turkey Clyde River, Scotland, Great Britain Lebanon Western Georgia or Armenia (?) Near Troy, NW Anatolia, Turkey Northwest of Ephesus, Turkey Denizli, South Central Turkey South Central Turkey Near Aquileia, Italy Salamis, Eastern Cyprus Istanbul, Turkey Cordova, South of Spain Korinthos, Greece Kos, Greece, off South West Turkey Site on Malabar Coast, West India Cremona, North Central Italy Crete Crotone, South Italy Ruins South East of Baghdah, Iraq West of Naples, Italy Anatolia, Asia Minor, Turkey South East Turkey Near Volos, Thessaly, Greece Cyprus North Africa, Lybia (?) Ruins at Shahhat, Libya Balikhisar, Turkey North Romania East central Anatolia, Turkey Croatia and some contingent areas Damascus, Syria Near Tokat, North central Turkey Dhilos, Aegean Sea, Greece Ruins at Delfol, Central Greece Site Karaman, South Central Turkey Dhiban, Jordan Lod or Lydda, central Israel Site in North France Romania and Bulgaria Probably Asia Minor, Turkey (?) Dor, Northwestern Israel York, England Hamadan, Iran Italy Urfa, South East Turkey Macedonia, Greece Egypt South Israel and Jordan Tel Miqne, central Israel Khuzestan, South western Iran Site in Lucania, Italy Opposite Aswan City, Upper Egypt Eleusis (Lepsina), Atthens, Greece Palestine, Israel (?) Northwestern Peloponese, Greece Northwestern Peloponese, Greece Near Granada, Andalusia, South Spain Nicopolis, Israel Hims, Syria En Gedi, South East Israel Near Kusadasi/Selcuk, West Turkey Northeastern Peloponnese, Greece Ipiros, NW Greece and South Albania Greece (?) Kara Burun, western Turkey Tall al-Asmar, near Bagdah, E.C Iraq Tuscani-Lazio, Central Italy Evvoia, East Greece Runs through Syria and Iraq Kayseri, Central Turkey South Crete Fondi, Lazio, south central Italy Formia, Lazio region, S. C. Italy Site North of Rome, Italy Latakia, Syria Site North West of Jerusalem, Israel Umm Qays, North West Jordan Gaeta, Lazio, south central Italy Central Asian part of Turkey North Israel Site East Israel-West Jordan border East India Struma River, North East Greece Cankiri, north-central Turkey Israel but location not found yet Alpine Italy N. through West France South Syria, North Jordan Gaza Strip, South West Israel Northern Media) Gela, southern Sicily, Italy See of Galilee, North Israel Jarash, West Jordan At Jabal at Tur, Samaria, C. Israel Maras, Turkey Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel Tel Gezer near Ramlat, Israel Site in Samaria, Israel Near Jerusalem, Israel Jish, North West Israel Israel Hill near Jerusalem, Israel Site North of Jerusalem, Israel Ruins in North-Western Turkey Iraq or Armenia (?) Belapet, Iran Aleppo, Northern Syria Bodrum, Turkey West central Iran Central Syria Central Syria Village near Urfa, SE Turkey Bogazköy, Central Anatolia, Turkey Israel (?) Near Istanboul, Turkey Lower Egypt Crimea, Russia Eregli, northcentral Turkey Ruins in West Italy Gediz, Turkey Tal Horodos, South Israel Kawm al-Ahmar, Upper Egypt Pamukkale, South western Turkey Manbij or Membij, Syria Northern coast of Sicily, Italy Near Annaba, Algeria Bizerte, Tunisia Site East of Cremona, North Italy Al Mird, East of Jerusalem, Israel Iran Georgia North Eastern Anatolia, Turkey Konya, South Turkey Southern Israel Albania, Slovenia and Croatia India Western coast of Anatolia, Turkey In Phrygia, Anatolia, Turkey Ad-Diwaniyah, in southern Iraq Site near Adana, South East Turkey Aldborough, England Spain Ionian island, Greece North Israel, Lebanon, South Syria Tel-Aviv, Yafo, Israel Near Yavne, Israel Site West of Nazareth, Israel Jericho (Ariha),WestBank,E.C. Israel Jerusalem, Israel Capital, Northern Kingdom of Israel Site, Khirbet Tarrama, near Hebron Yafo.Abuts, Tel Aviv, Israel Ruins, South of Sakhnin, Nort Israel Central Israel South Israel Kawm Umbu, Upper Egypt Al-Ashmunayn, Upper Egypt South western Iran Near Colonia, Armenia Tall al-Uhaimer, south central Iraq Cyprus Northern coast, Crete Telloh, South east Iraq Limni Volvi, North East Greece Turkey (?) Near Denizli, Turkey Latakia, Syria Larissa, Thessali Plain, Greece Tall Sankarah, southern Iraq Site in South Crete West-central Italy Pratica di Mare, Lazio, Italy Asia Minor, Turkey Limousin, France Ile de Lérins, south of France Near Argos, Greece Greece, off South West Turkey Levkas, off West Greece Near Levktra, Boeotia, south Greece Libya Marsala, western Sicily, Italy Locri, Southeastern Italy Germany, North of Rhine South Campania and Lucania, Italy Lyon, France Anatolia, South East Turkey Southwestern Anatolia, Turkey Egypt Lod, Israel Western Anatolia, Turkey Lusna, South Central Turkey Macedonia and North Greece Mukawir, South West Jordan Mdaourouch, Algeria Büy ük Menderes Near Tiberias, Israel Coastal cities, South Italy Near Ephesus, Turkey Manisa, western Turkey Akra Maleas, South Greece Benevento (um), Campania, Italy Near Samsat, Syria Near Tripolis, Greece Region of Greece Tall al-Hariri, Syria Ruins in South Israel Marseille, France Morocco and West Algeria Kayseri, Central Turkey Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah Mégara, Attica, Greece Tel Megiddo, Northern Israel Malta Eski Malatya, E. Asia Minor, Turkey Memphis, northeastern Egypt Central England Near Zefat, Galilee, North Israel Tigris, Euphrates Valley, Iraq Messina, NE Sicily, Italy Golfe of Taranto, South Italy Yazilikaya, Turkey Northwest Arabia Yemkoy, South of Söke, West Turkey Arslantepe, Asia minor, Turkey Minturno, Italy Site near Pozzuoli, West Italy Mitilini, Isles of Lesbos, Greece East of Dead Sea, Jordan North Bulgaria, East Serbia Khorramsharh, Iran Anglesey, Wales, Great Britain Turkey (?) Region of Czech Republic Mosul, Northwestern Iraq San Pantaleo, west Sicily, Italy Central Peloponnnesus, Greece Samaria, Central Israel North West Turkey Near Jerusalem, Israel Oros Olympos, Nort East Greece Jordan Valley, Jordan (?) South central Sinai, Egypt Osijek, Croatia Peloponnese, Greece Sicily, Italy Kale, South Turkey North West Anatolia, Turkey Main town, Lesbos Island, Greece Anatolia, Turkey South Israel-West Jordan Nis, Moesia, ex-Yougoslavia South East France In the Nile Delta, Egypt Peloponnese, Greece Nazareth, Galilee, Northern Israel Cappodocia, Asia Minor, Turkey Kawm al-Ahmar, Upper Egypt Site near Amfipolis, South Greece Naples, Italy Israel Niksar, Turkey Italy (?) South east Turkey Iznik, Turkey Near Izmit, northwestern Turkey Nikopolis, Nortwestern Greece Near Mosul, Iraq Nusaybin, Turkey Wadi an-Natrun, Egypt Nola, Campania, South west Italy Italy NE Africa (Egypt, Sudan, Lybia, …) East Algeria-West Tunisia Greece Sultanhisar, Turkey East Central Anatolia, Turkey Site near Otricoli, Umbria, Italy Greece (?) Olbia, Sardegna, Italy Ilkley, England Boeotia, Greece Ostria, West Central Italy Padua, Veneto, Northern Italy Palmyra, south central Syria Southern Anatolia, Turkey Pantellaria, off west Italy Parts of Hungary, Austria, Slovenia Akhmim, Upper Egypt Anatolia, Asia Minor, Turkey Paphos, South West Cyprus Region of Khorasan , Iran East Syria to India Ruins near Kinik, South Turkey Padua, Northern Italy Patrai, West Central Greece Ruins, N. Greece, near Thessaloniki Peloponnesus, South Greece West Jordan Murtina, Antalya prov., S.C. Turkey Bergama, Izmir province, West Turkey Mysia, Turkey Iran Balkans (?) Near Athens, Greece Near Jerusalem, Israel Amman, Jordan Filippoi, north of Amfipolis, Greece Licata, South Sicily, Italy South Italy (Magna Graecia) Foça, Izmir Gulf, Anatolia, Turkey Lebanon, parts of Syria and Israel Site in South West Crete West Central Anatolia, c. Turkey Piriæus, South East Greece South Central Turkey South Central Turkey Piacenza, North Central Italy Near Plataiai, Greece Ruins in West Italy Ponza, off West Italy North Eastern Anatolia, Turkey North Eastern Anatolia, Turkey North of Maeander,SW Turkey Island, Sea of Marmara, Turkey Sea of Marmara, Turkey Akko, North West Israel Pozzuoli, South West Italy Site near Katerini, Greece Ravenna, North East Italy Rayy, Tehran, Iran Sinai Peninsula Reggio di Calabria, South Italy Rhodes Rhodes, Greek Island South of Turkey Salamis, Eastern Cyprus Salamis, Greece Central Israel West Bank territory, Israel Near Montesarchio Campania, S. Italy Samos, Greek Island, West of Turkey Samsat, South eastern Turkey Samothrace, North East Greece Sakarya region, Northwestern Turkey Near Izmir, Turkey Skhodër, Albania South Ukraine to Caspian See, Russia Bet Shean, East Israel Shomron or Sabastiyah, West Bank Tel Umar, ruins, SE of Bagdah, Iraq Samandagi, South East Turkey Goksu Nehri, Southern Turkey Iran Iraq (?) Zippori, North West Israel Sofia, Capital of Bulgaria Near Nabulus, Israel Africa Selimiye, southwestern Turkey Sidon (also Sayda), Lebanon Khuzestan, South western Iran Sind province, Pakistan Sinjar, Iraq or Armenia (?) Sinop, S.coast Black Sea, N.Turkey Sremska Mitrovica, Yugoslavia Near Aleppo, Syria Sisak, Croatia Izmir, Anatolia, western Turkey Suqutra, off South East Yemen Modern Uzbekistan West of Mersin, south-central Turkey West of  Karavostasi, Cyprus Near Konya, Turkey Spain and Portugal Sparti, South Greece Castellammare di Stabia, Italy Northern Greece Near Ljubjana, Slovenia Lazio region, central Italy Sulmona, Abruzzi, Central Italy Southern Iraq Shush, Khuzistan, Iran Near Corigliano, South Italy Greek for Aswan, Upper Egypte Turkey (?) Siracusa, Sicily, Italy South Turkey South to Egypt East bank of the Nile River, Egypt Palmyra, South central Syria In Numidia, Tunisia Near Gualo Tadino, Apennines, Italy Tarento, south Italy Site near Migdal, Nort West Israel Terracina, West Italy Tarsus, South East Turkey Toros Daglari, South East Turkey Near Jerusalem, Israel Bozcaada, off North West Turkey Anatolia, Asia Minor, Turkey Thasos, North East Greece Luxor, or Al-Uqsur, Centre E. Egypt Thivai, northwest of Athens, Greece Thermopilai, coast, central Greece Thessaloniki, North East Greece Lower Egypt South Bulgaria-N. Greece-West Turkey Tiberias or Teverya, NC Israel Silvan, East Turkey Near Khirbat Balatah, Central Israel Constanta, southeastern Romania Nort East Israel, South West Syria South Syria Trastevere, Rome, Italy Asia Minor, Anatolia, Turkey Trier, Southwestern Germany Trier, Southwestern Germany Northwestern Turkey Near Truva, NW Anatolia, West Turkey Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan Site North East of Rome, Italy Ruins near Nigde, Central Turkey Tyre or Sur (Arabic), South Lebanon Ras Shamra, Al-Bayda Bay, N. Syria Tell Jokha, Iraq (?) Germany, South of Rhine River Tall (or Tell) Al-muqayyar, S. Iraq Erech, southern Iraq Ejmiadzin, Armenia Venezia, North East Italy Verona, North East Italy Besancon, East France Villanova near Bologna, Italy Vienna, Austria Binchester, England Braja, Utter Pradesh, India Kinik, Western Turkey Egypt Gorgan, Iran Galilee, Israel Zefat, Upper Galilee, Israel Jerusalem, Israel

Bibliography

Bibliography, Mystery Schools

This research has been done using mainly the following encyclopaedia:

Britannica 2001 and 2002.

Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia (1998 edition).

Encarta 98 (Microsoft).

Encyclopédie Générale (French).

Hutchinson Encyclopedia 2001.

New Millenium Encyclopedia (Webster Gold).

Oxford Interactive (version 1.0).

Webster Concise Interactive Encyclopedia.

Webster World Encyclopedia 2001.

World Book 2001.