maenads and bacchantes Vme- I nadz...b3- , kants, bo-kan-tez\ Female followers of the Greek wine-god Dionysus. The word maenad comes from the Greek, meaning “mad” or “demented.” During the orgi¬ astic rites of Dionysus, maenads roamed the mountains and forests per¬ forming frenzied, ecstatic dances, and were believed to be possessed by the god. While under his influence they were supposed to have unusual strength; it was said they could tear animals or people to pieces (the fate met by Orpheus). As bacchantes they were named for Bacchus, the Roman counterpart of Dionysus.
Maes VmasV Nicolaes (b. 1634, Dordrecht, Neth.—d. Nov. 24, 1693, Amsterdam) Dutch painter. A native of Dordrecht, he went to Amsterdam c. 1650 to study with Rembrandt, from whom he learned the Baroque style. Before his return to Dordrecht in 1653 he painted a few life-size Rem- brandtesque genre scenes. From 1655 to 1660 he painted smaller domes¬ tic scenes, usually of women spinning, eavesdropping, reading the Bible, or cooking. In 1673 he moved permanently to Amsterdam and devoted himself to portraiture, abandoning intimacy and the deep glowing colours characteristic of Rembrandt for elegance and cooler tones reminiscent of Anthony Van Dyck. He was a prolific painter, and he achieved great suc¬ cess with his portraits.
Maeterlinck Vma-tor-.liqkV Maurice (Polydore-Marie- Bernard) later Comte Maeterlinck (b. Aug. 29, 1862, Ghent, Belg.—d. May 6, 1949, Nice, France) Belgian playwright and poet. He studied law in Ghent but soon turned to writing poems and plays. His Pelleas et Melisande (1892), considered the masterpiece of Symbolist drama (see Symbolist movement), was the basis of Claude Debussy’s opera (1902). In his Symbolist plays, Maeterlinck used poetic speech, gesture, lighting, setting, and ritual to create images that reflect his protagonists’ moods and dilemmas. His other writings include a collection of Symbol¬ ist poems (. Hothouses , 1899) and plays such as Monna Vanna (1902), The
Blue Bird (1908), and The Burgomaster ofStilmonde (1918). He was also noted for his popular treatments of scientific subjects, including The Life of the Bee (1901) and The Intelligence of Flowers (1907). Maeterlinck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911.
Maffei \ma-'fa\ I and II Two galaxies relatively close to the Milky Way Galaxy, first detected in the late 1960s by the Italian astronomer Paolo Maffei. Maffei I is a large elliptical galaxy, while Maffei II is a spiral gal¬ axy. Though they are large and nearby, they are hidden in the Milky Way’s zone of avoidance. At a distance of about 10 million light-years, they appear to be major members of one of the nearest galaxy groups outside the Local Group.
Mafia Society of criminals of primarily Italian or Sicilian origin. The Mafia arose in Sicily in the late Middle Ages, possibly as a secret orga¬ nization to overthrow the rule of foreign conquerors. It drew its members from the small private armies, or mafie, hired by landlords to protect their estates. By 1900 the Mafia “families” of western Sicily controlled their local economies. In the 1920s Benito Mussolini jailed most of the members, but they were released by the Allies after World War II and resumed their activities. In the 1970s their control of the heroin trade led to fierce rivalry among the clans, followed in the 1980s by renewed governmental efforts to imprison the Mafia leadership. In the U.S., Sicilian immigrants included former Mafia members who set up similar criminal operations. Their operations expanded from bootlegging in the 1920s to gambling, narcot¬ ics, and prostitution, and the Mafia, or Cosa Nostra, became the largest U.S. syndicated crime organization. About 24 Mafia groups or “families” controlled operations in the U.S.; the heads (or “dons”) of the largest fami¬ lies formed a commission whose main function was judicial and could override a don’s authority. At the beginning of the 21st century the Mafia’s power was greatly diminished through convictions of top officials, defec¬ tions, and murderous internal disputes. See also organized crime.
mafic Vma-fik\ rock In geology, any igneous rock dominated by the silicates pyroxene, amphibole, olivine, and mica. These minerals are high in magnesium and ferrous iron, and their presence gives mafic rock its characteristic dark colour. It is usually contrasted with felsic rock. Com¬ mon mafic rocks include basalt and gabbro.
Mafikeng Vma-fo-.kiqV Siege of Boer siege of a British military out¬ post in the South African War at the town of Mafikeng (until 1980 spelled Mafeking) in northwestern South Africa in 1899-1900. The garrison, under the command of Col. Robert S. Baden-Powell, held out against the larger Boer force for 217 days until reinforcements could arrive. The rejoicing in British cities on news of the rescue produced the word maf¬ ficking, meaning wild rejoicing.
Magadha Vmo-go-doV Ancient kingdom, India, situated in present-day Bihar and Jharkhand states, northeastern India. An important kingdom in the 7th century bc, it absorbed the kingdom of Anga in the 6th century bc. Pataliputra (Patna) was its capital. Its strength grew under the Nanda dynasty; under the Mauryan dynasty (4th-2nd centuries bc), it comprised nearly the entire Indian subcontinent. It afterwards declined. Revived in the 4th century ad under the Gupta dynasty, it was conquered by the Mus¬ lims in the late 12th century. It was the scene of many events in the life of the Buddha.
Magadi \ma-'ga-de\, Lake Lake, Great Rift Valley, southern Kenya, east of Lake Victoria. It occupies an area of about 40 sq mi (104 sq km). Its bed consists almost entirely of soda deposits, which dye the waters a vivid pink.
magazine or periodical Printed collection of texts (essays, articles, stories, poems), often illustrated, that is produced at regular intervals. Modem magazines have roots in early printed pamphlets, broadsides, chapbooks, and almanacs. One of the first magazines was the German Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen (“Edifying Monthly Discussions”), issued from 1663 to 1668. In the early 18th century Joseph Addison and Richard Steele brought out the influential periodicals The Tatler and The Spectator; other critical reviews began in the mid 1700s. By the 19th cen¬ tury, magazines catering to specialized audiences had developed, includ¬ ing the women’s weekly, the religious and missionary review, and the illustrated magazine. One of the greatest benefits to magazine publishing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the addition of advertise¬ ments as a means of financial support. Subsequent developments included more illustrations and vastly greater specialization. With the computer age, magazines (“e-zines”) also became available over the Internet.
Gaius Maecenas, marble bust; in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome
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1166 I Magdalen Islands ► magic
Magdalen Ymag-ds-tanX Islands French Ties de la Madeleine
X.el-do-lo-mad-TenX Island group of eastern Quebec, Canada. Located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence between Prince Edward Island and Newfound¬ land, the group comprises several islands and islets, with a total area of 88 sq mi (228 sq km). The largest include Havre-Aubert (Amherst) and Cap aux Meules (Grindstone). Discovered by Jacques Cartier in 1534, the islands are inhabited mainly by French Canadians.
Magdalena ^mag-do-'la-noX River River, south-central and northern Colombia. It rises on the eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains in south¬ ern Colombia and flows northward for about 950 mi (1,530 km) to empty into the Caribbean Sea near Barranquilla. It has been a major commer¬ cial artery since the Spanish conquest, though its importance has dimin¬ ished.