The mysteries of Isis were religious initiation rites performed in the
cult of the goddess Isis in the Greco-Roman world. Alluding to the
worship of Isis from ancient Egyptian religion, they were modeled on
other mystery rites, particularly the Eleusinian mysteries, which
honored the Greek goddess Demeter. By undergoing the mystery rites,
initiates signaled their dedication to Isis. Many texts from the Roman
Empire refer to the Isis mysteries, but the only source to describe them
is a work of fiction, the novel The Golden Ass, written in the second
century by Apuleius. In it, the initiate undergoes ritual purification
before descending into the innermost part of Isis's temple, where he
experiences a symbolic death and rebirth and has an intense religious
experience. Some aspects of the mysteries of Isis and of other mystery
cults resemble elements of Christianity, but the evidence for their
influence on Christianity is unclear.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysteries_of_Isis>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1233:
Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols entered Kaifeng after a 13-month
siege and began looting the fallen capital of the Jin dynasty.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_siege_of_Kaifeng>
1852:
Swedish operatic soprano Jenny Lind concluded a successful
concert tour of the United States under the management of showman P. T.
Barnum.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Lind%27s_tour_of_America>
1953:
The mountaineers Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay (both
pictured) became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_British_Mount_Everest_expedition>
1999:
President Olusegun Obasanjo took office as Nigeria's first
elected and civilian head of state after 16 years of military rule.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olusegun_Obasanjo>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
nick:
1. (transitive) To make a nick or notch in; to cut or scratch in a minor
way.
2. (transitive) To make ragged or uneven, as by cutting nicks or notches
in; to deface, to mar.
3. (transitive, rare) To make a crosscut or cuts on the underside of
(the tail of a horse, in order to make the animal carry it higher).
4. (transitive, obsolete) To fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of
nicks; to tally with.
5. (transitive) To hit at, or in, the nick; to touch rightly; to strike
at the precise point or time.
6. (transitive, cricket) To hit the ball with the edge of the bat and
produce a fine deflection.
7. (transitive, gaming) To throw or turn up (a number when playing
dice); to hit upon.
8. (transitive, mining) To make a cut at the side of the face.
9. (transitive, Australia, Britain, slang) To steal.
10. (transitive, Britain, law enforcement, slang) To arrest.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nick>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I believe in an America that is on the march — an America
respected by all nations, friends and foes alike — an America that is
moving, doing, working, trying — a strong America in a world of peace.
That peace must be based on world law and world order, on the mutual
respect of all nations for the rights and powers of others and on a
world economy in which no nation lacks the ability to provide a decent
standard of living for all of its people.
--John F. Kennedy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy>