hermit or eremite Individual who shuns society to live in solitude, often for religious reasons. The first Christian hermits appeared in Egypt in the 3rd century ad, escaping persecution by withdrawing to the desert and leading a life of prayer and penance. The first hermit was probably Paul of Thebes c. ad 250. Other famous hermits included St. Anthony of Egypt, who established an early form of Christian monasticism in the 4th century, and the pillar hermit Simeon Stylites. The communal life of monasteries even¬ tually tempered the austerities of the hermit’s life. In Western Christianity the eremitic life died out, but it has persisted in Eastern Christianity.
hermit crab Any crab (families Paguridae and Coenobitidae) that uses empty shells or other hollow objects as a shelter for partial containment and protection of the body. They are found worldwide in sandy- or muddy-bottomed waters and occa¬ sionally on land and in trees. They have two pairs of antennae and four pairs of legs; the first pair of legs is modified to form pincers, shaped to cover the shell entrance when the animal is inside. As the crab grows, it periodically leaves its shell and finds a larger one to occupy. The red¬ dish brown large hermit crab ( Pagu- rus pollicaris ; 4-5 in., or 10-12 cm, long) and the small hermit crab ( P. ! longicarpus) are found in North Ameri¬ can Atlantic coastal waters.
Hermitage (museum) \er-mi-'tazh,\ English Vhor-ms-tijN Largest museum in Russia and one of the most important in the world. Located in St. Petersburg, it derives its name from the “Hermitage” pavilion adjoining the Winter Palace, built in 1764-67 for Catherine II (the Great) as a private gallery for her treasured collections. On her death in 1796, the imperial collections were estimated to total 4,000 pictures. After the Winter Palace was destroyed by fire in 1837, the Hermitage was recon¬ structed and opened to the public by Nicholas I in 1852. After the Bol¬ shevik Revolution, the collections were transferred to public ownership. The museum is now housed in five interconnected buildings, including the Winter Palace and the Small, Old, and New Hermitages. Along with thousands of art objects from Central Asia, India, China, Egypt, the pre- Columbian Americas, Greece, and Rome, the Hermitage houses outstand¬ ing collections of Western painting. Russian history is represented by archaeological material from prehistoric times onward.
Hermon, Mount Arabic Jabal al-Shaykh \'ja-bal-ash-'shlk\ Snowcapped mountain on the Lebanese-Syrian border. Located west of Damascus and rising to 9,232 ft (2,814 m), it is the highest point on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and is sometimes considered the southernmost extension of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. A sacred land¬ mark in Hittite, Palestinian, and Roman times, it represented the north¬ western limit of Israelite conquest under Moses and Joshua. Since the Six- Day War (1967), about 40 sq mi (100 sq km) of its southern and western slopes have been part of the Israeli-administered Golan Heights.
Hermonthis Mior-'man-thosV Ancient town. Upper Egypt. Located near Thebes on the western bank of the Nile River and now an archaeological site, it was the seat of a sun cult and was a royal coronation site. It was the original home of the rulers of Thebes, who reunited Egypt after c. 2130-1939 bc. Excavations (1929-38) uncovered the Bucheum (the necropolis of the mummified Buchis bulls), cemeteries of various peri¬ ods, and part of the town area, including the temple of the war god Mentu.
Hermosillo \,er-mo-'se-yo\ City (pop., 2000: 545,928), capital of Sonora state, northwestern Mexico. On the coastal plain near the conflu¬ ence of the Sonora and San Miguel rivers, it is south of Nogales. In addi¬ tion to its administrative functions, it is a commercial and manufacturing centre for the surrounding irrigated farmlands. The city is a popular win¬ ter resort and is home to the University of Sonora (1938).
Herne, James A. orig. James Ahearn (b. Feb. 1, 1839, Troy, N.Y., U.S.—d. June 2, 1901, New York, N.Y.) U.S. playwright. He worked as a traveling actor before achieving success with his first play, Hearts of Oak (1879; written with David Belasco). Margaret Fleming (1890) is con¬ sidered his major achievement, though Shore Acres (1892) was his most popular play. He helped bridge the gap between 19th-century melodrama and the 20th-century drama of ideas.
hernia Protrusion of any organ or tissue from its normal cavity. The term usually refers to an abdominal hernia, which may be a congenital disorder or acquired after birth. Tissue may protrude through the abdomi¬ nal muscle at the groin (inguinal), upper thigh (femoral), or navel (umbili¬ cal); its circulation can become cut off, leading to inflammation, infection, and gangrene. If the tissue cannot be pushed back into place and kept there by a truss, surgery may be necessary. Other common hernias are hiatal hernia (protrusion of part or all of the stomach above the diaphragm) and herniated disk (protrusion of tissue from a disk in the vertebral col¬ umn through its outer layer).
hero Mythological or legendary figure, often of divine descent, who is endowed with great strength or ability, like the heroes celebrated in early epics such as Cilgamesh, The Iliad, Beowulf, or the Chanson de Roland. Usually illustrious warriors or adventurers, heroes are often represented as fulfilling a quest (e.g., Aeneas, in Virgil’s Aeneid, founding the Roman state, or Beowulf ridding his people of the monstrous Grendel and his mother). Heroes often possess special qualities such as unusual beauty, precocity, and skills in many crafts. Often inclined to boasting and fool¬ hardiness, they defy pain and death to live fully, creating a moment’s glory that survives in the memory of their descendants.
Hero and Leander \le-'an-dar\ Lovers celebrated in Greek legend. Hero, a virgin priestess of Aphrodite, was seen by Leander of Abydos dur¬ ing a festival, and the two fell in love. He swam the Hellespont nightly to be with her, guided by a light from her tower. One stormy night the lamp was extinguished, and Leander drowned. When Hero saw his body on the shore, she threw herself from the tower into the sea. The story was
Hermes leading a satyr chorus, vase by Douris, 5th century bc; in the British Museum
COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM
Hermit crab (Pagurus samuelis).
RUSS KINNE-PHOTO RESEARCHERS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
868 I Herod ► Herrick
told by Ovid and was treated by Christopher Marlowe in his play Hero and Leander and by Lord Byron in The Bride of Abydos.
Herod known as Herod the Great (b. 73 bc —d. March/April, 4 bc, Jericho, Judaea) Roman-appointed king of Judaea (37-4 bc). A practicing Jew, he was of Arab origin. He was critical to imperial control of Judaea, despite his earlier support of Mark Antony, and the Roman emperor increased his territory. Judaea prospered under his early reign, during which he increased trade and built fortresses, aqueducts, and theatres, but he could not give full rein to his desire to build and thrive because he feared the Pharisees, Judaism’s controlling faction, who viewed him as a foreigner. He lost favour through increasing cruelty, manifest in the mur¬ der of his wife, her sons, and other relatives. His grip on his kingdom weakened as he became increasingly mentally unstable and physically debilitated. He killed his eldest son, and he slew the infants of Bethlehem (see Jesus). He died shortly after a bungled suicide attempt.
Herod Agrippa I \9-'grip-3\ orig. Marcus Julius Agrippa (b. c.
10 bc— d. ad 44) King of Judaea (ad 41-44). Grandson of Herod the Great and nephew of Herod Antipas, he became friends in Rome with the emperor Tiberius and Caligula. Caligula made him king of his uncle’s realm in northeastern Palestine and of Galilee, and after Caligula’s death Herod’s support of Claudius earned him the kingdom of Judaea, where he won the support of the Jews and repressed Jewish Christians. He built public buildings in Beirut and hosted games at Caesarea to honour Clau¬ dius. He died suddenly during the games.