[Asuras, The], in the Hindu mythology the demons of the darkness of night, in overcoming whom the gods asserted their sovereignty in the universe.
[Asymptote], a line always approaching some curve but never meeting it.
[Ataca`ma], an all but rainless desert in the N. of Chile, abounding in silver and copper mines, as well as gold in considerable quantities.
[Atahualpa], the last of the Incas of Peru, who fell into Pizarro's hands through perfidy, and was strangled by his orders in 1533, that is, little short of a year after the Spaniards landed in Peru.
[Atalan`ta], a beautiful Grecian princess celebrated for her agility, the prize of any suitor who could outstrip her on the racecourse, failure being death; at last one suitor, Hippomenes his name, accepted the risk and started along with her, but as he neared the goal, kept dropping first one golden apple, then another, provided him by Venus, stooping to lift which lost her the race, whereupon Hippomenes claimed the prize.
[At`avism], name given to the reappearance in progeny of the features, and even diseases, of ancestors dead generations before.
[Atba`ra], or Black River, from the Highlands of Abyssinia, the lowest tributary of the Nile, which it joins near Berber.
[Ate`], in the Greek mythology the goddess of strife and mischief, also of vengeance; was banished by her father Zeus, for the annoyance she gave him, from heaven to earth, where she has not been idle since.
[Athaba`sca], a province, a river, and a lake in British N. America.
[Athalia], the queen of Judah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, celebrated for her crimes and impiety, for which she was in the end massacred by her subjects, 9th century B.C.