grotesque In architecture and decorative art, a mural or sculptural decoration combining animal, human, and plant forms. The word derives from the Italian grottesco , in reference to the grottolike underground rooms ( grotte ) where such ornaments were found during the excavation of Roman buildings c. 1500. The grotesque was revived in the Renais¬ sance, and a fashion for it in 16th-century Italy quickly spread to the rest of Europe; it was used most frequently in fresco decoration (painted, carved, or molded) until the 19th century.
Grotius Vgro-she-osN, Hugo orig. Huigh de Groot (b. April 10, 1583, Delft, Neth.—d. Aug. 28, 1645, Rostock, Mecklinburg-Schwerin)
Evening grosbeak (Hesperiphona ves- pertina)
KARL H. MASLOWSKI
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
808 I Grotowski ► Grove
Dutch jurist, humanist, and poet. He enrolled at Leiden University at age 11 and as a teenager accompanied Johan van Oldenbarnevelt on a mis¬ sion to France, where he remained to study law and publish a book on poli¬ tics (1598). Appointed the official historiographer of Holland, he wrote the history of the Dutch revolt against Spain. Increasingly involved in poli¬ tics, he wrote a defense of Dutch trad¬ ing rights for the Dutch East India Company and called for free access to the ocean for all nations. He became attorney general of Holland in 1607.
Imprisoned in 1618 when his patron Oldenbarnevelt was executed by Prince Maurice, he escaped to Paris in 1621 (by hiding in a trunk of books) and returned 10 years later, having achieved great international prestige. His legal works advance the idea that nations are bound by natural law; his masterpiece, On the Law of War and Peace (1625), one of the first great contributions to modern inter¬ national law, prescribes rules for the conduct of war. He also published many translations and works of classical scholarship.
Grotowski \gr6-'tov-ske\, Jerzy (b. Aug. 11,1933, Rzeszow, Pol.—d. Jan. 14, 1999, Pontedera, Italy) Polish-born U.S. stage director. He joined the Polish Laboratory Theatre of Wroclaw in 1959 and founded a perma¬ nent company in 1965. The Laboratory Theatre made its U.S. debut with Akropolis (1969); it was followed by Undertaking Mountain (1977) and Undertaking Earth (1977-78), by which time Grotowski was living mostly in the U.S. Known as an avant-garde theorist, he sought to create dramatic tension by setting up emotional confrontations between audience and actors. His book Towards a Poor Theater (1968) emphasized the cen¬ trality of the actor and advocated minimal stage sets. He influenced U.S. experimental theatre movements, notably the Living Theatre.
ground squirrel Any of numerous relatively short-legged, terrestrial rodents of the squirrel family (Sciu- ridae), found in North America,
Mexico, Africa, Europe, and Asia.
The name is often applied to chip¬ munks. Ground squirrels belong to the genera Ammospermophilus, Xerus,
Atlantoxerus , and Spermophilus.
They live in burrows, sometimes in colonies. Though primarily herbi¬ vores, some feed on insects and other small animals and on carrion. Many species collect food, carrying it in their cheek pouches, and store it in their burrows. Those in cold areas may hibernate in winter; those in dry areas may become dormant in summer. Species range from about 7 to 20 in. (17-52 cm) in length, including the tail.
groundhog See woodchuck
Groundhog Day (February 2) In the U.S., the day that the ground¬ hog predicts whether spring will be coming soon. If, on emerging from his hole, he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter; if not, spring is imminent. The tradition stems from English beliefs about seeing shadows on Candlemas (also February 2).
groundnut Any of several plants that bear edible fruit or other nutlike parts. Three are legumes: Arachis hypogaea, the peanut, the fruit of which is a legume or pod rather than a true nut; Apois americana, also called wild bean and potato bean, the tubers of which are edible; and Lathyrus tuberosa, also called earth-nut pea. Cyperus esculentus, nut sedge or yel¬ low nut grass, is a papyrus relative (sedge family) that also bears edible tubers, especially in the variety called chufa or earth almond.
groundwater or subsurface water Water that occurs below the surface of the Earth, where it occupies spaces in soils or geologic strata. Most groundwater comes from precipitation, which gradually percolates into the Earth. Typically, 10-20% of precipitation eventually enters aqui¬
fers. Most groundwater is free of pathogenic organisms, and purification for domestic or industrial use is not necessary. Furthermore, groundwa¬ ter supplies are not seriously affected by short droughts and are available in many areas that do not have dependable surface water supplies.
groundwater table See water table Group of Seven See Group of Seven
Group Theatre New York theatre company (1931—41) founded by Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford, and Lee Strasberg to present U.S. plays of social significance. Embracing the acting principles of the Stanislavsky method, the company—which also included actors and directors such as Elia Kazan, Lee J. Cobb, and Stella Adler—staged John Howard Lawson’s Success Story (1932), Sidney Kingsley’s Men in White (1933), Clifford Odets’s Waiting for Lefty (1935) and Golden Boy (1937), Irwin Shaw’s Bury the Dead (1936), and William Saroyan’s My Heart’s in the High¬ lands (1939), among many other plays.
group theory In modern algebra, a system consisting of a set of ele¬ ments and an operation for combining the elements, which together sat¬ isfy certain axioms. These require that the group be closed under the operation (the combination of any two elements produces another element of the group), that it obey the associative law, that it contain an identity element (which, combined with any other element, leaves the latter unchanged), and that each element have an inverse (which combines with an element to produce the identity element). If the group also satisfies the commutative law, it is called a commutative, or abelian, group. The set of integers under addition, where the identity element is 0 and the inverse is the negative of a positive number or vice versa, is an abelian group. See also field theory.
group therapy Form of psychotherapy in which several patients or cli¬ ents discuss their personal problems, usually in the presence of a therapist or counselor. In one approach to group therapy, the chief aim is to raise members’ awareness and morale and combat feelings of isolation by cul¬ tivating a sense of belonging to the group; a notable example is Alcoholics Anonymous. The other principal approach strives to foster free discussion and uninhibited self-revelation; members are helped to self-understanding and more successful behaviour through mutual examination of their reac¬ tions to people in their lives, including one another.
Groupe Islamique Armee (GIA) See Armed Islamic Group
grouper Any of numerous species of fishes (family Serranidae) widely distributed in warm seas, especially members of the genera Epinephelus and Mycteroperca. Groupers are characteristically large-mouthed, heavy¬ bodied fishes. Some species grow larger than 6 ft (about 2 m) long and heavier than 500 lb (225 kg). Groupers are usually dull green or brown; some species can change their colour pattern, and deepwater individuals may be much redder than nearshore ones. They are prime food fishes, though a few species carry a toxic substance in their flesh and can cause poisoning when consumed, and they provide sport for anglers and spearfishermen. See also jewfish; sea bass.