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Cult of the Supreme Being
The Cult of the Supreme Being was a deistic cult established by Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794) during the French Revolution (1789-1799). Its purpose was to replace Roman Catholicism as the state religion of France and to undermine the...
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The Temple of Hatshepsut
Among the duties of any Egyptian monarch was the construction of monumental building projects to honor the gods and preserve the memory of their reigns for eternity. These building projects were not just some grandiose gesture on the part...
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Minoan 'Ladies in Blue' Fresco
The 'Ladies in Blue' fresco is a recreated fresco from the Palace of Knossos on the island of Crete. It shows three women richly dressed and lavishly bejeweled depicted against a blue background. This fresco (or rather, fragments of it) was...
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Still Life with Blue Enamel Coffeepot by van Gogh
An 1888 oil on canvas painting, Still Life with Blue Enamel Coffeepot, by Vincent van Gogh (1853-90), the Dutch post-impressionist artist. Painted in May in Arles in southern France. Van Gogh enclosed a sketch of this painting in a letter...
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Nocturne in Blue and Green: Chelsea by J .M. Whistler
An 1871 oil on wood, Nocturne in Blue and Green: Chelsea, by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), the American painter.
Definition
Kachina Cult
The Kachina (also “Katsina”) cult refers to the specific religious practices centered on the kachina, which is a spiritual entity and divine messenger of the Puebloan peoples as well as the Hopi, Zuni, Tewa, and Keresan tribes in what is...
Definition
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II (1825-1899), aka Strauss the Younger, was an Austrian composer best known for his waltzes such as The Blue Danube. Famed throughout Europe and the United States in his own lifetime, Strauss was known as the 'Waltz King'...
Definition
Indigo Revolt
The Indigo Revolt (aka Indigo Riots or Blue Mutiny) of 1859-60 in Bengal, India, involved indigo growers going on strike in protest at working conditions and pay. The subsequent violence was aimed at exploitative European plantation owners...
Definition
Mithraism
The Mithraic Mysteries, also known as Mithraism, were a mystery cult in the Roman world where followers worshipped the Indo-Iranian deity Mithras (Akkadian for "contract") as the god of friendship, contract and order. The cult first...
Definition
Cybele
History verifies the importance of religion not only on a society's development but also on its survival; in this respect the Romans were no different than other ancient civilizations. During the formative years of the Roman Republic, especially...