ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
In Roman religion and myth, Ceres (Latin: "Cerēs") is the goddess of agriculture, especially the growing of grains and cereals, fertility and motherly relationships. The Roman equivalent of Demeter. Ceres was an important deity of the Plebeian or Aventine Triad. She was the mother of Proserpine. Her daughter was married to Pluto, the god of the underworld. At Roman weddings, a boy carried the torch of Ceres to light the way to happiness of the couple. The dwarf planet Ceres is named after her. Ceres found out the spelt wheat (Latin far), the yoking of oxen and ploughing, the sowing, protection and the young seed, the gift of agriculture to human beings. Before this, man were going here and there without houses or rules. She had the power to fertilize, multiply and make plants bear fruit and animals produce seed. Her rules protected all the activities of the agricultural cycle. In January, Ceres (alongside the earth-goddess Tellus) was offered spelt wheat and a pregnant sow. It was done at the movable Feriae Sementivae. This was almost done before the annual sowing of grain. The divine part of sacrifice was the entrails (exta) put in a clay pot (olla). In villages, Cato the Elder describes the offer to Ceres of a porca praecidanea (a pig, offered before harvesting). Before the harvest, she was offered some grains (praemetium). Ovid tells that Ceres "is content with little, provided that her offerings are casta" (pure). Ceres' main festival is Cerealia. It was celebrated from middle to late April. It was organised by her plebeian aediles. It included circus games (ludi circenses). It opened with a horse-race in the Circus Maximus. Its starting point was below and opposite to her Aventine Temple. Its turning post was at the far end of the Circus. It was holy to Consus, a god of grain-storage. After the race, foxes were released into the Circus. Their tails
Roman mythology is a huge collection of stories, started in Ancient Rome, about the beginning of the world, and the lives and adventures the many Roman gods, goddesses, and heros. Each god, each goddess had a cult to take care of their temples or other holy places. The myths of the Ancient Romans are often called Greco-Roman. Originally, they were similar to the Ancient Greek mythology, and later the Romans added Greek stories for their Roman gods, so they became even more similar. The gods and goddesses in these stories have many different magic powers. They can make themselves invisible to humans and move to any place in a very short time. They can change people into animals or animals into people. They have no disease and can only be hurt by very unusual causes. This is called being immortal; they can never die.
This is a list of deities in different polytheistic religions, cultures and mythologies of the world. Comparison. This list includes Etruscan, Greek, Roman, Norse and Meitei versions of similar gods and goddesses. The table is ordered by the Greek god's name.
Ancient history is all the events we know about between the invention of writing and the start of the Middle Ages.  Writing is one of the greatest inventions of the human species. It was invented after the Neolithic revolution in which people settled in small towns and started agriculture. Writing dates from about 3,300 BC, which is over 5000 years ago, in the Middle East. The first people to use writing were the Sumerians and the Ancient Egyptians. Before writing, the only things we have are the tools and monuments made by earlier people. This is studied by archaeology rather than history. The period of ancient history ends with the early Middle Ages. Study of ancient history. Finding facts about ancient history is difficult because people wrote less in those times: only scribes could write. Most of what they did write has been lost. There were very few copies made because there was no printing. What people wrote they wrote by hand. More people could read and write in Ancient Rome than in other places but much of what they wrote is now lost.  Archaeology. Archaeology is looking at things that were made or used in the past to learn about that time. Things like clay pots, solid tools, and metal weapons often exist at the same time. Things like paper, wood, and cloth can be easily broken, burnt or damaged. Some ancient things found using archaeology are: Primary sources. Primary sources are written by people who lived in ancient times. They tell us most of what we know about ancient history. But people in ancient history may have believed different things from each other. They may also be wrong. Some famous people who wrote ancient history are: Herodotus, Josephus, Livy, Polybius, Suetonius, Tacitus, Thucydides and Sima Qian.
Staten Island is a borough of New York City. Fewer than half a million people live there, the smallest population of any of the five boroughs. Three bridges connect Staten Island to New Jersey, and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge connects to Brooklyn. A passenger railroad runs along the south shore to the northeast end of the island, which is called Saint George. The borough has the same boundaries as the county Richmond County. The free Staten Island Ferry carries 21 million passengers each year the five miles (eight km) across New York Harbor between Saint George and Manhattan. Nine ferry boats provide the service which began in 1817. When England took control of New Netherland in the Second Anglo-Dutch War in the 17th century and split it into New York and New Jersey, Staten Island became part of New York.
A borough is an administrative division in many countries. It is a kind of local government.  The term borough can means a self-governing township.  In medieval times, boroughs were settlements with some self-government. Boroughs were particularly common in England, Germany and Scotland. In medieval England, boroughs had also the right to elect members of parliament. ("The Borough" in Southwark, London is thought to have been the original 'borough' of which all others come from.) Usually a borough is a single town with its own local government.  But in some cities it is a sub-division of the city (e.g. London, New York City, Toronto, Montreal). In such cases the borough will normally have either limited powers delegated to it by the city's local government or no powers at all. At certain times London has had no overall city government and London boroughs were the main unit of local government for Londoners.  In other places, such as Alaska, a borough does not mean a single township, but a whole region - in other words, it is similar to a county. In Australia borough can mean a town and its surrounding area, e.g. the Borough of Queenscliffe. Boroughs exist in United Kingdom, more specifically in England and Northern Ireland, in the Canadian province of Quebec, in several U.S. states, in Israel, and formerly they also existed in New Zealand.  At the end of a word, -borough (or -brough) is found in the name of many towns and cities in England; in southern England it is usually spelt -bury. The suffix -bury is also used in the New England region of the United States, while -burg (or -burgh) is more common in Scotland and the American South and West.
Echo was a nymph in Greek mythology, and an Oread (a mountain nymph). She was very beautiful, but loved her own voice. Hera. According to "Ovid", Echo once had the job of distracting Hera from Zeus having relationships with other women. She did this by leading Hera away and flattering her. When Hera found out she was very angry with Echo. She put a curse on her that meant that she could only speak the last words of other people after she had heard them. It is due to this story that we get the meaning behind the word "echo". Narcissus. After she was cursed, Echo fell in love with Narcissus. Narcissus was very handsome and anybody who saw him always fell in love with him. However, Narcissus had no heart and could not fall in love with anybody. Echo could not speak to Narcissus but wanted to be able to see him. She therefore followed him everywhere, but made sure that he could not see her. Narcissus got lost and called out ""Is anyone here?". Echo said back "Here, here, here."" Narcissus then asked Echo to come out of her hiding place. Echo did so and then told Narcissus that she loved him by hand movements. Narcissus, who was angry that so many people loved him, told Echo that he did not love her. Echo was very upset and prayed to Aphrodite for death. Aphrodite granted Echo's wish, but she liked Echo's voice so much she kept it alive. Narcissus also rejected Echo and broke her heart. She then went and haunted valleys and mountainous areas where echoes are able to be heard in all hollow places of the earth. Pan. This is a different story about Echo's death. Echo was a talented dancer and singer, but did not like the love of any man. This caused another god, called Pan, to become angry. He had Echo killed and split into pieces. These pieces were spread about the world, but were collected up by Gaia. Echo's voice was not collected, so it remains all over the world and still says the last words that other people have said. In some versions of the story, Echo and Pan have a child who was called Iambe.
Harmonia (; ) is the goddess of peace and agreement in Greek mythology. She is the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. She is the opposite of Eris, goddess of disagreement. Her Roman equivalent is Concordia. Origins. Harmonia is the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. Her children are Ino, Polydorus, Autonoe, Agaue and Semele with Kadmos. As goddess of peace, she is the opposite of Eris, the goddess of disagreement. About. Harmonia met Cadmus on a journey to Samothrace. He took her away with the help of Athena. When Cadmus wanted to leave Thebes, Harmonia followed him. When they came to the Enchelii, they helped them in their war against the Illyrians. They won over the enemy. Cadmus then became king of the Illyrians. But unfortunately, later he was turned into a snake. Harmonia was sad. She coloured herself with stripes. She asked Cadmus to come to her. As she was hugged by the snake Cadmus in wine, the gods then turned her into a snake. She was unable to stand in her snake form. Story. Harmonia is known for a dangerous necklace she had on her wedding day. When Athena made Cadmus the king of Thebes, Zeus gave him Harmonia. All the gods attended the wedding. Cadmus gave the bride with a cloth and the necklace. The necklace was made by Hephaestus. This necklace is commonly known as the necklace of Harmonia. It brought misfortune to all who had it. Other stories said that Harmonia took this necklace (ὅρμος) from some of the gods. It might be either from Aphrodite or Athena. Polynices took the necklace. They gave it to Eriphyle. She asked her husband, Amphiaraus, to attack against Thebes. Through Alcmaeon, the son of Eriphyle, the necklace came into the hands of Arsinoe (named Alphesiboea in some stories). Then, the sons of Phegeus, Pronous and Agen
The president "pro tempore" ( or ), or president pro tem, of the United States Senate is the longest serving senator from the majority political party in the United States Senate. According to the Constitution, this is the fourth highest office in the United States. It is the third in the U.S. presidential line of succession (behind the vice president and the speaker of the House). Many state senates also use the office of President pro tem. Officially the vice president is the person in charge of the Senate, but they are not a Senator. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is the current president pro tempore . When the vice president cannot be in charge, the president pro tempore is in charge of the Senate. Many people still think of the president pro tempore as "de facto" president of the Senate. Benjamin Wade was only one vote away from becoming the president of the United States due to the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. No president pro tempore has ever taken over the presidency. Probably the most famous presidents pro tempore were John Langdon (first in this office), David Rice Atchison (D-MO), Benjamin Wade (R-OH), Arthur Vandenberg (R-MI), Carl Hayden (D-AZ) Richard Russell, Jr. (D-GA), Strom Thurmond (R-SC), Robert Byrd (D-WV), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT). When Senator Hubert Humphrey, a former vice president, was seriously ill, the Senate showed its respect for him by creating the office of Deputy President Pro tempore for any former president or vice president who is elected to the Senate. No vice president since Humphrey has held this. President pro tempore emeritus. Since 2001, the honorary title of president pro tempore emeritus has been given to a Senator of the minority party who has previously served as president pro tempore. The position has been held by:
David John Tennant (né McDonald; 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is known for portraying the Tenth Doctor on "Doctor Who" from 2005 to 2010, and portraying the Fourteenth Doctor in 2023, Giacomo Casanova in the television series "Casanova, and as Crowley in the television adaptation of the book Good Omens." In 2011, Tennant had a daughter with Georgia Moffett. Later that year, he adopted Moffett's son. The couple married in December 2011. In May 2013, the couple had a son. In November 2015, the couple had a daughter.
The American Broadcast Company (ABC) is an American television network. Along with CBS, NBC and Fox, it is one of the country's four major television networks. The network is owned by The Walt Disney Company following the acquisition of the Capital Cities/ABC by the company in 1995.
Papua New Guinea is an island country located on the Pacific Ocean. It is the east half of New Guinea island, plus some nearby islands. The capital city of Papua New Guinea is Port Moresby. The population of Papua New Guinea are mostly the Indigenous peoples of the island. The island is in both Australasia and Oceania, which are two different terms for the continent of islands in the Pacific area. It borders Indonesia to the west and near Australia to the south. Papua New Guinea has more languages than any other country. History. Long ago, around 42,000 to 45,000 years ago, people came to Papua New Guinea. They were related to people who left Africa a long time ago and moved to other parts of the world. A study in 2016 found that it was about 50,000 years ago that these people came to a big land called Sahul, which is Australia and New Guinea combined. About 10,000 years ago, the sea level rose and New Guinea became an island. But even before that, the people in Australia and Papua New Guinea became different from each other about 37,000 years ago. Scientists found out that the ancestors of Papuans mixed with another group of people called Denisovans when they were in Asia a long time ago. They share 4% to 7% of their genes with these ancient people. Around 9,000 years ago, people in New Guinea started growing their own plants and farming. This was one of the few places in the world where people did this without learning it from others. Later, around 2,500 years ago, some people who spoke Austronesian languages moved to the coasts of New Guinea. They brought new things like pottery, pigs, and fishing methods with them. In the 18th century, traders brought a new kind of food called sweet potato to New Guinea. It was from South America and introduced by Portuguese traders to the Moluccas. People in New Guinea liked it and it became a popular food. Sweet potato gardens produced more crops than the traditional taro, and this helped societies grow and become more prosperous. Divisions. Administrative divisions. Papua New Guinea
James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician. He was the oldest serving member of the United States Senate to date and the only senator to reach 100 while in office. He was also Governor of his home state South Carolina and a Presidential candidate. He was a lawyer. Thurmond spent more than 70 years of his life in public service. Before World War II he served as state senator and judge. During war he served in the US Army in Europe and briefly in Asia. In 1959 he was promoted to the rank of major general. Early life. Thurmond was born on December 5, 1902 in Edgefield, South Carolina. His family used to own slaves, including ancestors of Al Sharpton. He studied at Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina. Thurmond graduated in 1923. He was married to Jean Crouch from 1947 until they divorced in 1960. Then he was married to Nancy Moore from 1968 until his death in 2003. He had five children. Career. From 1947 to 1951 he served as Governor of South Carolina (as a Democrat). During 1948 U.S. Presidential Election he became the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party faction called "Dixiecrat" (States Rights Democrat, mostly from the South) - people who supported racial segregation and opposed civil rights laws. Thurmond and his vice presidential candidate, Mississippi Governor Fielding Lewis Wright finished the race in 3rd (behind Harry Truman and Thomas E. Dewey) with 39 electoral votes and they carried 4 states (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and, of course, Thurmond's home state). In 1957, he filibustered (delayed) the for 24 hours. Despite the long hours, he failed and the bill passed. He was elected, as first write-in candidate for major national office, to the Senate in 1954. He was reelected for his first full term in 1956 and served until January 2003. He was originally a Democrat, but in 1964 he openly supported Barry
The Roman Forum is an area of the city of Rome which the ancient city developed around. It is the place where commerce, business, cult, and the administration of justice took place.  It was for centuries the centre of Roman public life. It was the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches. It was also the heart of commerce. Here statues and monuments mark the city's great men. It has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history.  The Forum is in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills. Today it is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and excavations. It has 4.5 million sightseers each year. Buildings in the Forum. The Roman Forum is famous for the number of buildings and other ancient ruins that it contains. These include:
A playwright is a person who writes plays for the stage. Because the name of such a text is "drama", another word for this person is dramatist. Sometimes, dramas are written to be read and not played. In that case, they are called "closet dramas". The word "wright" does not come from write. It is an ancient English term for a builder. For example, a "wheelwright" makes wheels. In a similar way, a playwright makes plays. When the term was first used, it was meant as an insult. Today it has lost this meaning. History. The first playwrights in Western literature whose plays still exist were the Ancient Greeks. They were written around the 5th century BC. These playwrights are important as they wrote in a way that is still used by modern playwrights. Important among them are Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. The most famous playwright may be William Shakespeare. A lot of later work is based on his tragedies and comedies. For example, "Kiss Me, Kate" is based on Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew", and his "Romeo and Juliet" has been made again many times. Tom Stoppard created the play "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" in 1966 which is a modern adaptation of "Hamlet". Modern playwrights. Modern playwrights are usually less famous than past playwrights. Since television and movies were invented, theater has become less popular. Because it is less popular, not as many tickets are sold now, and producers often do not have enough money to make plays, and many playwrights are not known.
Iambe was the goddess of rhyme and merriment in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of Pan and Echo. Iambic pentameter. Iambe is said to have created the iambic pentameter verse pattern in poetry. This is a metered verse with two different sounds, and it was named after Iambe. The iambic pentameter verse is used by many poets, one of which is William Shakespeare. Demeter. In the myth, Demeter, was sad about losing her daughter, Persephone. It was only Iambe who was able to make Demeter laugh. She did this by using poetry and wit to cheer Demeter up. When Demeter was not sad any more, the earth became fertile again. Iambe then became Demeter's first priestess.
A triangle is a musical instrument with three sides and curved corners. There is always one corner where the sides do not join. This makes it possible for the instrument to vibrate. The player holds a small piece of string or leather from which the triangle is hanging, and he makes a sound by hitting the triangle with a triangle beater. In orchestras, where the percussionist may be playing several percussion instruments, the triangle may hang from a stand so that the player can move quickly to another instrument. Triangles come in different sizes. Smaller ones will sound higher than larger ones. The triangle can always be heard clearly above the sound of the orchestra or band.
Bernie Little ("born" in McComb, Ohio on circa 1926 - "died" April 25, 2003) was the most successful owner in Unlimited Hydroplane racing history. His "Miss Budweiser" team won 134 of the 354 hydroplane races they entered. They won the high points championship 22 years in 40 years of competition, and the Gold Cup 14 times. Racing career. Little's team is also known for making an enclosed driver's seat to improve driver safety, after driver Dean Chenoweth was killed in a crash during a race in 1982. His team employed some of the biggest names in their field, including designer Ron Jones, and driver Chip Hanauer who won more Gold Cup races than any other driver. He is second only to Bill Muncey in total races won. Awards and recognition. Little has been inducted into the Unlimited Hydroplane Hall of Fame, the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Chenoweth, Hanauer, and another driver for Little, Tom D'Eath, are also in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
Perseus () is a hero in Greek mythology. He is the legendary founder of Mycenae and is most famous for killing the Gorgon Medusa. He is a demigod, the son of Zeus and the mortal princess Danaë. With his wife, the Ethiopian princess Andromeda, his children are the sons Perses, Alkaios, Sthenelos, Elektryon, and the daughter Gorgophone. Perseus is also the great-grandfather of Herakles, as well as his half-brother. Birth. King Akrisios of Argos was told by an oracle that he would be killed by his grandchild. Because of that he put his daughter Danaë in a tower where no one was allowed to enter, so she could not have a child. But the god Zeus could enter in the form of a golden rain, and with him her child was Perseus. Akrisios then put Danaë and her baby Perseus in a box and threw it into the sea. But Zeus tells the sea-god Poseidon to help them, and so Danaë and her son come to the island Seriphos. There they are found by Diktys, who lets them live with him. A long time after that, the grown up Perseus takes part in some funeral games. During the games Perseus throws a discus, which accidentally hits Akrisios. Akrisios is killed by it: he was killed by his grandchild, like the oracle's prophecy said. Perseus and Medusa. Perseus was sent to retreive Medusa's head by King Polydectes, who wanted him dead so he could marry his mother. To do this, he was advised by Athena to seek the Gray sisters, who told him how to fight Medusa when he stole their eye. Hermes lent Perseus winged sandals, Hades lent him his helm of darkness (which makes the wearer invisible), and Athena lent him a shield which he could see Medusa's reflection in, since whoever looked her in the eye would turn to stone. With all these magic items, Perseus was able to cut off Medusa's head. On the way back home, he fights a sea monster to save Andromeda, who is chained to a cliff as a sacrifice, and marries her.