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Portuguese Nagasaki
Nagasaki, on the northwest coast of Japan’s Kyushu Island, was an important Portuguese trading base from c. 1571 to 1639, and the most eastern outpost of the Portuguese empire. The Portuguese presence transformed Nagasaki from a small fishing...
Definition
Pluto
Pluto is the god of the Underworld in Roman mythology. His Greek counterpart was Hades. Pluto chose never to sit on Olympus with the other gods and goddesses, preferring to remain in the Underworld. Family Pluto (Hades) was the son...
Definition
Ceres
Ceres is the goddess of agriculture and the harvest in Roman mythology. Her favor would bring humankind plentiful harvests and fruitful crops, but her wrath brought blight, drought, and famine. Usually depicted as a matron, her symbols included...
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Portuguese Ship at Nagasaki
A detail from a Japanese painted screen showing a Portuguese carrack at the port of Nagasaki, a Portuguese trading post from c. 1571 to 1639. Screen painted by Kanō Naizen. (Kobe City Museum, Japan)
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Memorial of the 26 Martyrs of Japan in Nagasaki
Memorial of the 26 Martyrs of Japan in Nagasaki, who were executed for their Christian beliefs in 1597, after Japan had outlawed the religion. Canonised by the Catholic Church, the martyrs were tortured before their execution, with the event...
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Statue Group of Persephone-Isis and Pluto-Serapis with Cerberus
Statue group of Persephone (as Isis) and Pluto (as Serapis) with the three-headed dog Cerberus. From the Sanctuary of the Egyptian Gods at Gortyn on the island of Crete. Mid-2nd century CE. Heraklion Archaeological Museum. Pluto-Serapis...
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Bust of Pluto, Palazzo Altemps
A Roman bust of Hades/Pluto, based on a 5th Century BCE Greek original. (National Roman Museum, Palazzo Altemps)
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Sanctuary of Pluto at Eleusis
The Sanctuary of Pluto/Hades was a peribolos wall enclosing a cave through which Pluto brought Kore back from the underworld. The small temple was built c. 328 BCE but was remodeled on many occasions from the 4th century BCE down to Roman...
Definition
Serapis
Serapis is a Graeco-Egyptian god of the Ptolemaic Period (323-30 BCE) of Egypt developed by the monarch Ptolemy I Soter (r. 305-282 BCE) as part of his vision to unite his Egyptian and Greek subjects. Serapis’ cult later spread throughout...
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Persephone, Demeter, & Pluto Marble Plaque, Tegea.
A marble plaque from Tegea depicting Pluto, Demeter and Persephone with worshippers. 4th-3rd century BCE. (National Archaeological Musem, Athens)
