ELDER encyclopedia topics

ELDER - 15 reference results

elder or elderberry: see honeysuckle.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

box elder: see maple.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Pliny the Elder (Caius Plinius Secundus), c.A.D. 23-A.D. 79, Roman naturalist, b. Cisalpine Gaul. He was a friend and fellow soldier of Vespasian, and he dedicated his great work to Titus. He died of asphyxiation in the neighborhood of Vesuvius, having gone to investigate the eruption. His one surviving work is an encyclopedia of natural science (Historia naturalis). It is divided into 37 books and, after a preface, deals with the nature of the physical universe; geography; anthropology; zoology; botany, including the medicinal uses of plants; curatives derived from the animal world; and mineralogy, including an account of the uses of pigments and a history of the fine arts. Pliny's industry was immense and his knowledge of sources extensive, but his information is mostly secondhand and quite useless as science.

See Selections from the History of the World, ed. by P. Turner (1962).

His nephew and ward, Pliny the Younger (Caius Plinius Caecilius Secundus), A.D. 62?-c.A.D. 113, was an orator and a statesman. He was quaestor (A.D. 89), tribune (A.D. 91), and praetor (A.D. 93) and subsequently held treasury posts. He was consul (A.D. 100) and died in his proconsular province of Pontus-Bithynia. His fame rests on his letters, written probably for publication, which are an excellent mirror of Roman life.

See his Letters and Panegyricus, tr. by B. Radice (2 vol., 1969); studies by S. E. Stout (1954) and A. N. Sherwin-White (1966).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Geoffroy the Elder

Geoffroy the Elder: see Geoffroy, Étienne François.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Edward the Elder

Edward the Elder, d. 924, king of Wessex (899-924), son and successor of Alfred. He fought with his father against the Danes. At Alfred's death (899) Edward's succession was disputed by his cousin Æthelwold, who allied himself with the Danes of Northumbria and East Anglia. The death of Æthelwold in battle (902) put an end to that war, but later fighting with the Danes recommenced. Aided by his sister Æthelflɶd, Lady of the Mercians, Edward undertook a series of advances against the Danes, systematically building fortresses to cover his positions. At the same time he repelled Viking attacks on the shore of England. After Æthelflɶd's death (918) he asserted his full authority over Mercia and thus became ruler of all England S of the Humber River. He was also accepted as overlord by several Welsh rulers and by English Northumbria, and he is supposed to have received the submission of Constantine II of Scotland. The right of the overlordship of Scotland, based on Edward's position, was asserted by later English kings. Edward was succeeded by his son Athelstan. Two other sons, Edmund and Eldred, also ascended the throne.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Dionysius the Elder

Dionysius the Elder, c.430-367 B.C., tyrant of Syracuse. Of humble origin, he entered politics as a supporter of the poorer classes. Having prompted (400 B.C.) a measure to elect truly democratic generals, he secured for himself one of these generalships. His next move was to arouse distrust of his colleagues, and so well did he succeed that he soon became tyrant. Fundamentally his reign was characterized by a consistent policy of maintaining the obedience of the Syracusans through fear of the constant menace of the Carthaginians, then masters of a large part of Sicily. At the same time he kept alive the enthusiasm of his subjects by expeditions against the cities of the Italian mainland and by his none too successful efforts to repel the Carthaginians. He sided with Sparta against Athenian naval predominance. He wrote tragedies and was patron of the arts.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Cato the Elder

Cato the Elder or Cato the Censor, Lat. Cato Major or Cato Censorius, 234-149 B.C., Roman statesman and moralist, whose full name was Marcus Porcius Cato. He fought in the Second Punic War and later served as quaestor (204), aedile (199), praetor (198), consul (195), and censor (184). He was renowned for his devotion to the old Roman ideals—simplicity of life, honesty, and unflinching courage. He inveighed against extravagance and new customs, but his policy was not aimed at repression but rather at reform and the rebuilding of Roman life. He sought to restrict seats in the senate to the worthy and undertook much building, including the repair of the city sewers. He was sent on an official visit to Carthage in his old age. Upon his return he expressed stern disapproval of Carthaginian ways and told the senate to destroy Carthage. He thus helped to bring on the Third Punic War, in which Carthage was destroyed. Probably his detestation of luxury and cultivated ways inspired the deep hatred that he had for the Scipio family. He himself deliberately affected a rustic appearance and rustic manners. However, he complacently accepted class division and treated his servants harshly. He wrote many works, most of which are now lost. Probably the most influential was his history of early Rome. His De agri cultura or De re rustica, translated as On Farming, is a practical treatise that offers valuable information on agricultural methods and country life in his day.

See A. E. Astin, Cato the Censor (1978).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Agrippina the Elder

Agrippina the Elder, d. A.D. 33, Roman matron; daughter of Agrippa and Julia and granddaughter of Augustus. She was the wife of Germanicus Caesar and accompanied him on his provincial duties. After her husband's death (A.D. 19), she accused Tiberius of having Germanicus poisoned, and thereafter she was consistently on bad terms with the emperor. Exiled to Pandatería Island in the Bay of Naples, she starved herself to death. Her son Caius Caesar Germanicus became the emperor Caligula.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

elder

European red elder (Sambucus racemosa).

Any of about 20–30 species, mainly shrubs and small trees, that make up the genus Sambucus, in the honeysuckle family. Most are native to forested temperate or subtropical areas. Elders are important as garden shrubs, as forest plants, and for their berries (elderberries), which provide food for wildlife and are used for wines, jellies, pies, and folk medicines. Elders have divided leaves and flat, roundish clusters of tiny, yellowish-white, saucer-shaped flowers. The American, or sweet, elder (S. canadensis) of North America is the most important species horticulturally.

Learn more about elder with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

box elder

Hardy and fast-growing tree (Acer negundo), also called ash-leaved maple, of the maple family, native to the central and eastern U.S. Its compound leaves (rare among maples) consist of three, five, or seven coarsely toothed leaflets. The single seed is borne in a samara (dry, winged fruit). Because of its rapid growth and its drought resistance, it was widely planted for shade by early settlers in the prairie regions of the U.S. Maple syrup and sugar are sometimes obtained from the box elder. Its wood is used for crates, furniture, paper pulp, and charcoal.

Learn more about box elder with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Scipio Africanus (the Elder)

in full Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus

(born 236—died 183 BC, Liternum, Campania) Roman general in the Second Punic War. He was born into a patrician family that had produced several consuls. As a military tribune, he fought at the Battle of Cannae (216), managing to escape from the defeat. While still young, he secured Spain for Rome by 206, driving the Carthaginians out and avenging his father's death. As consul in 205 he was granted permission to attack the Carthaginians in Africa. In 202 he was victorious over Hannibal at the Battle of Zama, ending the Second Punic War and winning the name Africanus. His political opponents, led by Cato, accused Scipio and his brother Lucius of offering too lenient terms to Macedonia after their engagement there and of not being able to account for money supposedly received in those terms. Though there was no evidence of his guilt, Scipio withdrew from public life and died a virtual exile.

Learn more about Scipio Africanus (the Elder) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Pliny the Elder

Latin Gaius Plinius Secundus

(born AD 23, Novum Comum, Transpadane Gaul—died Aug. 24, 79, Stabiae, near Mt. Vesuvius) Roman scholar. Descended from a prosperous family, Pliny pursued a military career, held official positions (including procurator of Spain), and later spent years in semiretirement, studying and writing. His fame rests on his Natural History (AD 77), an encyclopaedic work of uneven accuracy that was the European authority on scientific matters up to the Middle Ages. Six other works ascribed to him were probably lost in antiquity. He died while observing the great eruption of Vesuvius.

Learn more about Pliny the Elder with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Dionysius I

or Dionysius the Elder

(born circa 430 BC—died 367) Tyrant of Syracuse (405–367). He became ruler with Spartan help and retained power until his death, basing his strength on the support of his mercenary army. He held Carthaginian expansion on Sicily in check and hoped to acquire an empire in Greek Italy. Syracuse's economy depended on war, and under Dionysius great advances were made in the technology of large-scale artillery and the manufacture of munitions. His disastrous third campaign against the Carthaginians resulted in the ceding of money and territory; he died during the next Carthaginian conflict.

Learn more about Dionysius I with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Cato, Marcus Porcius

known as Cato the Censor or Cato the Elder

(born 234, Tusculum, Latium—died 149 BC) Roman statesman and orator, the first important Latin prose writer. Born of plebeian stock, he fought in the Second Punic War. His oratorical skills paved the way for his political career. He held conservative anti-Hellenic views and opposed the pro-Hellenic Scipio family, whose power he broke. Elected censor (magistrate in charge of censuses, taxes, and the public good) in 184, he tried to restore the mos majorum (“ancestral custom”) and combat Greek influence, which he believed undermined Roman morality. He crafted laws against luxury and the financial freedom of women and never ceased to demand the destruction of Carthage. His writings include works on history, medicine, law, military science, and agriculture. His great-grandson Cato the Younger (b. 95—d. 46 BC) was a leading Optimate (see Optimates and Populares) who sought to preserve the republic against Julius Caesar.

Learn more about Cato, Marcus Porcius with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.