Épée (ė-pā), Charles Michel, Abbé de l', French philanthropist, born in 1712, died 1789. He had chosen the clerical profession, but had to leave the Church on account of Jansenist opinions. The great object of his life was the instruction of the deaf and dumb, upon whom he spent his whole income, besides what was contributed by benevolent patrons. In 1770 he founded at his own expense an institution for the deaf and dumb. He left several works on his method of instruction, one of these being Institution des sourds et muets (1774).
Épéhy, a town of France, department of Somme, about 13 miles S.E. of Cambrai. It was the scene of fierce fighting during the European War, and was captured by the British in Sept., 1918.
Epeira (e-pī´ra), a genus of spiders, comprising the largest and best-known British species. E. diadēma, the common garden spider, is a handsomely marked species, which constructs a beautifully symmetrical wheel-shaped web.
Eperies (ep´er-yāsh), a town of Czecho-Slovakia, formerly in Hungary, on the Tarcza, the seat of a Greek Catholic bishop. Pop. 16,323.
Épernay (ep-er-nā; ancient Sparnacum, and the Roman Aquæ Perennes), a town of North-Eastern France, department of Marne, on the Marne, the central depot of the wine trade of Champagne. The vast wine-cellars of the town form a labyrinth of galleries cut in the tufa or calcareous soil of the district. Épernay was occupied for a short time by the Germans at the beginning of the European War, and was one of the enemy's objectives in the second battle of the Marne (July, 1918). Pop. 21,811.
E´phah, or Bath, a Hebrew measure of capacity, containing, according to one estimate or calculation, 8.6696 gallons; according to another, only 4.4286 gallons.
Ephedra, the principal genus of the Gnetales family of Gymnosperms. The species are shrubby switch-plants, natives of the warm temperate zone, found especially on sandy soil. The ripe seeding cones have fleshy scales, and those of E. distachya are eaten in South Russia.
Ephem´era, the typical genus of the neuropterous insects constituting the family Ephemeridæ, so named from the extreme shortness of their lives in the perfect state. They are known as may-flies or day-flies, and are characterized by the slenderness of their bodies; the delicacy of their wings, which are erect and unequal, the anterior being much the larger; the rudimentary condition of the mouth; and the termination of the abdomen in three filiform appendages. In the state of larvæ and pupæ they are aquatic and exist for years. When ready for their final change, they creep out of the water, generally towards sunset of a fine summer evening, beginning to be seen generally in May. They shed their whole skin shortly after leaving the water, propagate their species, and die, taking no food in the perfect state. The may-fly is well known to anglers, who imitate it for bait.
Ephe´sians, The Epistle to the, a canonical epistle addressed by the Apostle Paul to the Church which he had founded at Ephesus. It was written during his first captivity at Rome, immediately after he had written the Epistle to the Colossians (A.D. 62); and was sent by the hands of Tychicus, who also bore the message to the Church at Colossæ.
Eph´esus, an ancient Greek city of Lydia, in Asia Minor, one of the twelve Ionian cities, on the south side of the Caystrus, near its mouth. It was at one time the grand emporium of Western Asia, having a convenient and spacious harbour. The Apostle Paul visited Ephesus and established a Christian Church there, to which he dedicated one of his Epistles. It was famous for its temple of Artemis (Diana), called Artemision, the largest and most perfect model of Ionic architecture, and reckoned one of the seven wonders of the world. The first great temple, begun about 650 B.C. and finished after 120 years, was burnt by the notorious Herostratus in order to perpetuate his name, 356 B.C. (the night of Alexander the Great's birth). A second and more magnificent was then erected, which was burned by the Goths in A.D. 262. Some interesting remains have been discovered by excavation since 1896. Several Church councils were held here, especially the Third