sebaceous gland \si-'ba-sh3s\ Small oiL-producing gland in the skin, usually connected to a hair follicle by a duct into which it releases sebum, a component of the slightly greasy film on the skin that helps keep it flex¬ ible and prevents too much water loss or absorption. The glands are dis¬ tributed over the entire body except the palms and soles, most abundantly on the scalp and face. Large and well developed at birth, they shrink dur¬ ing childhood but enlarge again and increase their sebum output at puberty (apparently in response to male hormones), often leading to acne.
Sebastian, Saint (d. c. 288, Rome; feast day January 20) Christian martyr who died during the persecutions of Diocletian. According to leg¬ end, he was born in Gaul and went to Rome to serve in the army. When officials learned that he was a Christian seeking converts, they ordered his execution by archers. Left for dead, he was nursed back to health by a Christian widow. He presented himself before the emperor, who con¬ demned him to death by beating. His body was thrown into a sewer but
was afterward found and buried. In Renaissance art he was often depicted as a handsome youth pierced by arrows.
Sebastiano del Piombo \se-bas-'tya-no-del-'py6m-bo\ orig. Sebastiano Luciani (b. c. 1485, Venice, Republic of Venice—d. July 21, 1547, Rome, Papal States) Italian painter. While in Venice, he was highly influenced by his teacher, Giorgione. In 1511 he moved to Rome and became a member of Michelangelo’s circle of Renaissance artists. Michelangelo thought so highly of him that he provided sketches for him to execute. In Sebastiano’s Pieta (1513), Flagellation (1516-24), and Raising of Lazarus (1516-18), all based on Michelangelo’s sketches, he combined the warm colouring of the Venetian school with Michelange¬ lo’s anatomical clarity and firm sculptural drawing. After Raphael’s death, Sebastiano’s reputation as a portraitist was unparalleled. In 1531 Pope Clement VII, the subject of one of his finest portraits (1526), appointed him keeper of the papal seal; his nickname derives from the fact that the seal was of lead (Italian, piombo). The lucrative post gave him financial security, and his output declined.
Sebastopol See Sevastopol
Sebek Vse-,bek\ In ancient Egyptian sanctuary in Fayyum province included a sacred crocodile, which was believed to be an incarnation of the god. Sebek may have been asso¬ ciated with fertility or death and burial before becoming a major deity and patron of kings in the Middle Kingdom (c. 1938-c. 1600? bc). He was merged with Re, the sun god, to constitute a crocodile form of that deity known as Sebek-Re. The wor¬ ship of Sebek continued in Ptolemaic and Roman times.
Sebou \s3-'bii\ River River, north¬ ern Morocco. From its source as the Wadi Guigou, it flows north to Fes and then east to the Atlantic Ocean at Mehdiya, a distance of 280 mi (450 km). Its basin is a major region for cultivating olives, rice, wheat, sugar beets, and grapes. Kenitra (pop.,
1994: 292,627), 10 mi (16 km) from its mouth, is a busy port at the head of navigation for oceangoing vessels.
secession (1860-61) Withdrawal of 11 Southern states from the U.S.
The precipitating event was the elec¬ tion of Abraham Lincoln as president (1860). Since the Republican Party strongly opposed slavery and its extension into the new territories, most slaveholding states had vowed to secede if the Republican candidate won. Secession had been proclaimed by states’-rights advocates as a cor¬ ollary to the compact that united the states, permitting them to withdraw as easily as they had joined. Earlier threats of secession were made at the Hartford Convention (1814), in the nullification crisis (1832), and in the 1850s before the Missouri Compro¬ mise. Secession was first approved by South Carolina (1860); six other states followed in the period before Lincoln was inaugurated in March 1861. After Lincoln resisted the South’s attack on Fort Sumter, four other slaveholding states voted to secede, joining the newly formed Confeder¬ ate States of America.
Second Empire (1852-70) Period in France under the rule of Emperor Napoleon III (the original empire having been that of Napoleon). In its early years (1852-59), the empire was authoritarian but enjoyed economic growth and pursued a favourable foreign policy. Liberal reforms were gradually introduced after 1859, but measures such as a low-tariff treaty with Britain alienated French businessmen, and political liberalization led
religion, a crocodile god. His chiel
Sebek, wearing horns, solar disk with uraeus, and plumes, bronze figurine, c. 600-300 bc; in the British Museum.
COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Second Empire style ► Seder I 1713
to increased opposition to the government. In 1870 a new constitution establishing a quasi-parliamentary regime was widely approved, but France’s defeat at the Battle of Sedan in the Franco-Prussian War was followed by an uprising in Paris on Sept. 4, 1870. This resulted in the overthrow of the government, the abdication of Napoleon III, and the end of the Second Empire.
Second Empire style See Beaux-Arts style
Second International or Socialist International (1889-1914) Federation of socialist political parties and trade unions that greatly influ¬ enced the European labour movement while supporting parliamentary democracy and opposing anarchism. Unlike the centralized First Interna¬ tional, it was a loose federation that met in a number of cities at various intervals. By 1912 it represented the socialist parties of all European coun¬ tries, the U.S., Canada, and Japan, with a membership of about nine mil¬ lion. It reaffirmed Marxist doctrine, but its main concern became the prevention of a general European war. When that failed, the International ended in 1914.
Second Republic (1848-52) French republic established after the Revolutions of 1848 (following the original republic during the French Revolution). The liberal republicans’ hopes of establishing an enduring democratic regime were soon frustrated. In 1848 Louis-Napoleon (later Napoleon III) was elected president, and a monarchist majority was elected to the legislative assembly, which passed conservative measures restrict¬ ing voting rights and freedom of the press and giving the church increased control over education. Soon realizing that his power and future reelec¬ tion were limited by the assembly’s actions, Louis-Napoleon organized a coup d’etat in 1851. A new constitution reduced the assembly’s power, and a plebiscite to approve the change was accompanied by officially inspired petitions for the empire’s restoration. In 1852 Louis-Napoleon was proclaimed emperor, and the Second Empire was bom.
secondary education Traditional second stage in formal education, typically beginning at ages 11-13 and ending usually at ages 15-18. The distinction between elementary education and secondary education has gradually become less marked, because of the proliferation of middle schools, junior high schools, and other divisions.
secret police Police established by national governments to maintain political and social control. Generally clandestine, secret police have oper¬ ated independently of the civil police. Particularly notorious examples were the Nazi Gestapo, the Russian KGB, and the East German Stasi. Secret-police tactics include arrest, imprisonment, torture, and execution of political enemies and intimidation of potential opposition members.
secret society Any of various oath-bound societies devoted to broth¬ erhood (or sisterhood), moral discipline, and mutual assistance. Such soci¬ eties usually conduct rituals of initiation to instruct new members in the rules of the group (see rite of passage). Greek and Roman mystery religions had their secular counterparts in clandestine social clubs, some of which served as platforms for political dissent. In West Africa secret societies such as Poro (for men) and Sande (for women) serve to translate slight advantages of wealth and prestige into political authority. In parts of New Guinea secret men’s societies serve as repositories of tribal knowledge. Fraternal orders such as the Freemasons (see Freemasonry) may be con¬ sidered secret societies, as may criminal groups such as the Mafia and the Chinese Triads and hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.