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Adamastor (company)
Adamastor is a mythological character created by the Portugal, Portuguese poet Luís de Camões in his epic poem ''Os Lusíadas'' (first printed in 1572), as a personification of the Cape of Good Hope, symbolizing the dangers of the sea and the formidable forces of nature challenged and ultimately overcome by the Portuguese during the Age of Discovery. Adamastor manifests itself out of a storm. Background Camões gave his creation a backstory as one of the Gigantes, Giants of Greek mythology, banished to the Cape of Good Hope by sea goddess Doris (mythology), Doris for falling in love with her daughter Thetis, Tethis, now appearing out of a storm cloud and threatening to ruin anyone hardy enough to attempt passing the Cape and penetrate the Indian Ocean, which was Adamastor's domain. Adamastor became the spirit of the Cape of Good Hope, a hideous phantom of unearthly pallor: Vasco da Gama, ahead of the Portuguese expedition, confronts the creature by asking ''"Who are you?"'', p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Os Lusíadas
''Os Lusíadas'' (), usually translated as ''The Lusiads'', is a Portuguese epic poem written by Luís Vaz de Camões ( – 1580) and first published in 1572. It is widely regarded as the most important work of Portuguese-language literature and is frequently compared to Virgil's ''Aeneid'' (1st c. BC). The work celebrates the discovery of a sea route to India by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1469–1524). The ten cantos of the poem are in ottava rima and total 1,102 stanzas. Written in Homeric fashion, the poem focuses mainly on a fantastic interpretation of the Portuguese voyages of discovery during the 15th and 16th centuries. ''Os Lusíadas'' is often regarded as Portugal's national epic, much as Virgil's ''Aeneid'' was for the Ancient Romans, or Homer's ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey'' for the Ancient Greeks. It was written when Camões was an exile in Macau and was first printed in 1572, three years after the author returned from the Indies. Internal structure The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gigantes
In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, the Giants, also called Gigantes (Ancient Greek, Greek: Γίγαντες, ''wiktionary:gigantes, Gígantes'', Γίγας, ''wiktionary:gigas, Gígas''), were a race of great strength and aggression, though not necessarily of great size. They were known for the Gigantomachy (also spelled Gigantomachia), their battle with the Olympian gods. According to Hesiod, the Giants were the offspring of Gaia (Earth), born from the blood that fell when Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) was castrated by his Titan (mythology), Titan son Cronus. Archaic and Classical representations show Gigantes as man-sized hoplites (heavily armed ancient Greek foot soldiers) fully human in form. Later representations (after c. 380 BC) show Gigantes with Anguiped, snakes for legs. In later traditions, the Giants were often confused with other opponents of the Olympians, particularly the Titan (mythology), Titans, an earlier generation of large and powerful children ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South African Literature
South African literature is the literature of South Africa, which has 11 national languages: Afrikaans, English, Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Pedi, Tswana, Venda, Swazi, Tsonga and Ndebele. Overview Elleke Boehmer (cf. Cullhed, 2006: 79) writes: "Nationalism, like patriarchy, favours singleness—one identity, one growth pattern, one birth and blood for all ... ndwill promote specifically unitary or 'one-eyed' forms of consciousness". The first problem any student of South African literature is confronted with, is the diversity of the literary systems. Gerrit Olivier notes, "While it is not unusual to hear academics and politicians talk about a 'South African literature', the situation at ground level is characterised by diversity and even fragmentation". Robert Mossman adds that "One of the enduring and saddest legacies of the apartheid system may be that no one – White, Black, Coloured (meaning of mixed-race in South Africa), or Asian – can ever speak as a "South Afr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memorial Do Convento
''Baltasar and Blimunda'' () is a 1982 historical novel by the Portuguese author José Saramago. It was Saramago's international breakthrough and won him the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature">ith which .... It was Saramago's international breakthrough and won him the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature. Plot The novel is an 18th-century love story intertwined with the construction of the Convent of Mafra, now one of Portugal's chief tourist attractions, as a background. Two young lovers interact naturally with historical characters including the composer and harpsichordist Domenico Scarlatti and the priest Bartolomeu de Gusmão, recognized today as an aviation pioneer, and also a wide range of workers and other characters, all in the shadow of the Inquisition. Literary style and themes The novel mixes historicity with fantasy, romance and critique of social inequeties. Saramago's narrative style blends dialogue, description and commentary in a dense and multifaceted text. The novel ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Year Of The Death Of Ricardo Reis
''The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis'' (in Portuguese: ''O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis'') is a 1984 novel by the Portuguese novelist José Saramago, who was awarded the 1998 ith which ..., who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature. The book chronicles the final year in the life of the title character, Ricardo Reis, one of the many heteronyms used by the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa">Heteronym (literature)">heteronyms used by the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa. In the novel, Ricardo Reis returns to Lisbon from Brazil, upon catching wind of Pessoa's death. While there, he chooses not to resume practicing medicine, but rather takes up residence in a hotel, where he wastes his days reading newspapers and wandering the streets of Lisbon. The novel was translated into English by Giovanni Pontiero in 1991 and won the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. Themes The novel largely addresses its themes indirectly, with Reis struggling to clearly express his fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nobel Prize In Literature
The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction" (original ). Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, the award is based on an author's body of work as a whole. The Swedish Academy decides who, if anyone, will receive the prize. The academy announces the name of the laureate in early October. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895. Literature is traditionally the final award presented at the Nobel Prize ceremony. On some occasions, the award has been postponed to the following year, most recently in 2018. Background Alfred Nobel stipulated in his last will and testament that his money be used to create a series of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christ The King (Almada)
The Sanctuary of Christ the King () is a Roman Catholic Church, Catholic monument and shrine dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ overlooking the city of Lisbon situated in Almada, in Portugal. It was inspired by the ''Christ the Redeemer (statue), Christ the Redeemer'' statue of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, after the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon visited that monument. The project was inaugurated on 17 May 1959. The giant statue was erected to express gratitude because the Portuguese were spared the direct destructive effects of World War II. History The construction of the Christ the King monument was approved in a Portuguese Episcopate#Roman Catholic Church, Episcopate conference, held in Fátima, Portugal, Fatima on 20 April 1940, as a plea to God to release Portugal from entering World War II and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Mary of the Divine Heart#Consecration of the World to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, act of consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
25 De Abril Bridge
The 25 de Abril Bridge (, 25th of April Bridge, ) is a suspension bridge connecting the city of Lisbon, capital of Portugal, to the municipality of Almada on the left (south) bank of the Tagus, Tagus River. It has a main span length of , making it the 48th List of longest suspension bridges, longest suspension bridge in the world. At the time of its inauguration in 1966, the bridge was named Salazar Bridge (), after Portuguese Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar, who ordered its construction. After the Carnation Revolution in 1974, which overthrew the remnants of Estado Novo (Portugal), Salazar's ''Estado Novo'' regime, the bridge was renamed for April 25, the date of the revolution. It is also commonly called the Tagus River Bridge (in Portuguese: , "bridge over the Tagus"). Later changes had to be made due to the rapid increase in population. In the 1990s, a fifth car lane was added, and in 1999, a lower deck, used as a railway track, which was planned since the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tagus
The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name The river's Latin name is ''Tagus''. While the etymology is unclear, the most probable etymological origin for the hydronym ''Tagus'' is Indo-European *(s)tag- ('to drip'). Geography Source The Tagus River originates at an elevation of 1,593 meters above sea level in a place known as Fuente García, within the municipality of Frías de Albarracín in Teruel, Spain. Its source is located between the Muela de San Juan (1,830 m) and Cerro de San Felipe (1,839 m), in the Sierra de Albarracín, which belongs to the Montes Universales in the western branch of the Iberian System. Course The river flows through Spain for , passing through four autonomous communities (Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha, Madrid, and Extremadura) and a total of six ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations averag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by the Southern Ocean or Antarctica, depending on the definition in use. The Indian Ocean has large marginal or regional seas, including the Andaman Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Laccadive Sea. Geologically, the Indian Ocean is the youngest of the oceans, and it has distinct features such as narrow continental shelf, continental shelves. Its average depth is 3,741 m. It is the warmest ocean, with a significant impact on global climate due to its interaction with the atmosphere. Its waters are affected by the Indian Ocean Walker circulation, resulting in unique oceanic currents and upwelling patterns. The Indian Ocean is ecologically diverse, with important ecosystems such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
