syphilis test: …reagin (RPR) test and the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test, both of which are based on the detection in the blood of syphilis reagin (a type of serum antibody). Treponemal tests include the Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay (TPHA; or T. pallidum particle agglutination assay, TPPA); the enzyme immunoassay (EIA);…

wart: Genital warts, or condylomata acuminata, are wartlike growths in the pubic area that are accompanied by itching and discharge.

Venericardia, genus of pelecypods (clams) abundant during the Eocene Epoch (the Eocene Epoch began 57.8 million years ago and ended 36.6 million years ago). The shell, composed of two halves (valves), is distinctive in form and generally large. Transverse ribs radiate from the apex of the valves

clam: …belong to the family of venus clams (Veneridae). M. mercenaria is about 7.5 to 12.5 cm (3 to 5 inches) long. The dingy white shell, which is thick and rounded and has prominent concentric lines, is found in the intertidal zone from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf…

bivalve: Annotated classification: Order Veneroida Shell typically equivalve and of outer crossed-lamellar and inner complex crossed-lamellar layers; hinge comprises radiating cardinal and lateral teeth, often weakly developed; adductor muscles of varying proportions according to habit; ctenidia eulamellibranch, mantle margins extensively fused, often developed into long siphons; most are active…

Bloodletting is the removal of blood from a person with the intent, by means of that process, to manage diseases and health conditions. Bloodletting was believed to help rid the body of impure fluids, and it was practiced from antiquity until the 19th century, when modern medicine emerged, as a way

Venice: Site: …an archipelago in the crescent-shaped Laguna Veneta (Venice Lagoon), which stretches some 32 miles (51 km) from the reclaimed marshes of Jesolo in the north to the drained lands beyond Chioggia at the southern end. The shallow waters of the lagoon are protected by a line of sandbanks, or lidi,…

Venetan, group of dialects of Italian spoken in northeastern Italy. It includes the dialects spoken in Venice (Venetian), Verona (Veronese), Treviso (Trevisan), and Padua

Veneti, ancient Celtic people who lived in what is now the Morbihan district of modern Brittany. By the time of Julius Caesar they controlled all Atlantic trade to Britain. They submitted to Caesar in 57 bc; but the next winter, disturbed by his interest in Britain, they seized some Roman

Veneti, ancient people of northeastern Italy, who arrived about 1000 bc and occupied country stretching south to the Po and west to the neighbourhood of Verona. They left more than 400 inscriptions from the last four centuries bc, some in the Latin alphabet, others in a native script (see Venetic

Venetia, territory of northeastern Italy and western Slovenia between the Alps and the Po River and opening on the Adriatic Sea. Italians often use the name Veneto for the region around Venice proper (Venezia) and the name Venezia Giulia for the country to the east. Historically Venetia was the

Trentino–Alto Adige/Südtirol, autonomous regione (region), northern Italy, comprising the province (provinces) of Bolzano-Bozen (north) and Trento (south). Historically, the region includes the area of the medieval ecclesiastical principalities of Trento (Trent) and Bressanone (Brixen), which were

Suriname: Suriname since independence: …the National Assembly and elected Ronald Venetiaan president. The new government quickly passed an act that officially deprived the military of all political power and in 1992 signed an agreement with the JC and the Tucayana regarding the repatriation of Maroons from French Guiana. Venetiaan sought to rein in both…

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Return to Weimar and the French Revolution (1788–94): …as the Venetianische Epigramme (Venetian Epigrams).

façon de Venise, (French: “Venetian fashion”), style of glass made in the 16th and 17th centuries at places other than Venice itself but using the techniques that had been perfected there. It may be outwardly so similar as to be difficult to distinguish from Venetian glass (q.v.) proper. The

Witold Lutosławski: …in combination with conventional effects: Venetian Games, written for the Venice Festival of 1961. In this work Lutosławski used unconventional visual notation to guide the performer in the various improvisatory operations.

Venetian Ghetto, seven-acre section of the Cannaregio district in Venice, Italy, to which Jews were confined for more than 250 years beginning in 1516. The Venetian Ghetto was the first to be legally established in the world, and the word ghetto, which predated the residential segregation, was

Venetian glass, variety of glasswares made in Venice from the 13th century, at the latest, to the present. Although a glassblowers’ guild existed in Venice from 1224, the earliest extant specimens that can be dated with certainty are from the mid-15th century. The early history of Venetian glass is

Venetian needle lace, Venetian lace made with a needle from the 16th to the 19th century. Early examples were deep, acute-angled points, each worked separately and linked together by a narrow band, or “footing,” stitched with buttonholing. These points were used in ruffs and collars in the 16th and

Alonso de la Cueva, marqués de Bedmar: …Spain as ambassador to the Venetian Republic (1607), he was made marqués de Bedmar in 1614. He used his diplomatic privileges to promote the plans of the Spanish viceroys of Naples and Milan and to increase Spanish power in Italy. Resolutely opposed to Bedmar’s activities, Venice fabricated an alleged conspiracy…

Venetian school, Renaissance art and artists, especially painters, of the city of Venice. Like rivals Florence and Rome, Venice enjoyed periods of importance and influence in the continuum of western European art, but in each period the outstanding Venetian characteristic has remained constant, a

fustic: The dye termed young fustic (zante fustic, or Venetian sumac) is derived from the wood of the smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria, or Rhus cotinus), a southern European and Asian shrub of the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. Both old and new fustic have been displaced from commercial importance by synthetic…

Palladian window, in architecture, three-part window composed of a large, arched central section flanked by two narrower, shorter sections having square tops. This type of window, popular in 17th- and 18th-century English versions of Italian designs, was inspired by the so-called Palladian motif,

Italy: Venice of Italy: …the course of the first Turkish war (1463–79), Turkish cavalry raided Dalmatia and Friuli; Venice lost the strategically important island of Negroponte (Euboea, or Évvoia) and agreed to pay tribute to the sultan. Meanwhile, Venice’s expansion on the mainland troubled the republic’s fellow Italian states, which feared that it might,…

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Return to Weimar and the French Revolution (1788–94): …as the Venetianische Epigramme (Venetian Epigrams).

Venetic language, a language spoken in northeastern Italy before the Christian era. Known to modern scholars from some 200 short inscriptions dating from the 5th through the 1st century bc, it is written either in Latin characters or in a native alphabet derived from Etruscan, the Etruscans having

Veneto, regione, northern and northeastern Italy, comprising the provincie of Venezia, Padova, Rovigo, Verona, Vicenza, Treviso, and Belluno. It is bounded by Trentino–Alto Adige (north), Emilia-Romagna (south), Lombardia (Lombardy; west), Austria (northeast), and Friuli–Venezia Giulia and the

Jean de Venette was a French chronicler who left a valuable eyewitness report of events of the central France of his time. Of peasant origin, Jean joined the Carmelite order and was elected prior of the Carmelite convent at Paris in 1339. In 1342 he was appointed provincial of France for the

Venice, city, major seaport, and capital of both the provincia (province) of Venezia and the regione (region) of Veneto, northern Italy. An island city, it was once the centre of a maritime republic. It was the greatest seaport in late medieval Europe and the continent’s commercial and cultural

Venetia, territory of northeastern Italy and western Slovenia between the Alps and the Po River and opening on the Adriatic Sea. Italians often use the name Veneto for the region around Venice proper (Venezia) and the name Venezia Giulia for the country to the east. Historically Venetia was the

Veneto, regione, northern and northeastern Italy, comprising the provincie of Venezia, Padova, Rovigo, Verona, Vicenza, Treviso, and Belluno. It is bounded by Trentino–Alto Adige (north), Emilia-Romagna (south), Lombardia (Lombardy; west), Austria (northeast), and Friuli–Venezia Giulia and the

Friuli–Venezia Giulia, regione (region) of northeastern Italy, bordering Austria to the north, Slovenia to the east, the Adriatic Sea to the south, and the Veneto region to the west. It has an area of 3,030 square miles (7,847 square km), comprising the province (provinces) of Udine, Pordenone,

Gulf of Venice, northern section of the Adriatic Sea (an arm of the Mediterranean Sea), extending eastward for 60 miles (95 km) from the Po River delta, Italy, to the coast of Istria, in Slovenia and Croatia. It receives the Po, Adige, Piave, and Tagliamento rivers. Marshes, lagoons, and sandspits

Museum of the Venice Palace, in Rome, museum occupying part of the papal apartment of the first great Renaissance palace of Rome. Dating from the middle of the 15th century, the Palazzo Venezia was built for Cardinal Pietro Barbo, later Pope Paul II. Displayed are fine medieval and Renaissance

Rome: Churches and palaces: …a new papal residence, the Palazzo Venezia (“Venetian Palace”), near the church. Thereafter, the basilica’s priest was always a Venetian cardinal, sharing the palace with the Venetian embassy. Mussolini had his headquarters in the Palazzo Venezia and harangued the crowds from the balcony from which Paul II had cheered the…

Domenico Veneziano was an early Italian Renaissance painter, one of the protagonists of the 15th-century Florentine school of painting. Little is known about Domenico Veneziano’s early life and training. He was in Perugia (central Italy) in 1438, and from there he wrote a letter to Piero de’ Medici

string theory: Relativity and quantum mechanics: Gabriele Veneziano, a young theorist working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), contributed a key breakthrough in 1968 with his realization that a 200-year-old formula, the Euler beta function, was capable of explaining much of the data on the strong force then being…

Paolo Veneziano was a principal Venetian painter of the Byzantine style in 14th-century Venice. Paolo and his son Giovanni signed The Coronation of the Virgin in 1358; it is the last known work by him. Another The Coronation of the Virgin, which is dated 1324, is also attributed to Paolo. Other

bolívar fuerte: …escudo, the peso, and the venezolano.

Venezuela, country located at the northern end of South America. It occupies a roughly triangular area that is larger than the combined areas of France and Germany. Venezuela is bounded by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Guyana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Colombia

Venezuela mud slides of 1999, devastating mud slides in Venezuela in December 1999. An estimated 190,000 people were evacuated, but thousands of others, likely between 10,000 and 30,000, were killed. Over the course of 10 days in December 1999, torrential rains inundated the mountainous regions of

Central University Botanical Garden: …state-supported tropical garden occupying a 65-hectare (160-acre) site in Caracas, Venez. The garden has excellent collections of palms, cacti, aroids, bromeliads, pandanuses, and other groups of tropical plants of considerable botanical interest; also important is a large, untouched tract of the original mountainside vegetation. The herbarium maintained by the research…

In 1797 Manuel Gual and José María España, plotting to overthrow Spanish rule in what is now Venezuela, proposed a complex flag with the colours white, yellow, blue, and red. In 1801 the revolutionary leader Francisco de Miranda chose red, yellow, and blue for his flag, although five years later he

Gulf of Venezuela, inlet of the Caribbean Sea in Venezuela and Colombia, extending 75 miles (120 km) north-south and reaching a maximum east-west width of 150 miles (240 km). It is bounded by the Guajira Peninsula on the west and by the Paraguaná Peninsula on the east and is connected with Lake

history of Venezuela, a survey of the important events and people in the history of Venezuela from the time of European settlement. Located at the northern end of South America, Venezuela occupies a roughly triangular area that is larger than the combined areas of France and Germany. The republic’s

Central University Botanical Garden: …state-supported tropical garden occupying a 65-hectare (160-acre) site in Caracas, Venez. The garden has excellent collections of palms, cacti, aroids, bromeliads, pandanuses, and other groups of tropical plants of considerable botanical interest; also important is a large, untouched tract of the original mountainside vegetation. The herbarium maintained by the research…

mountain: The Andes: …into Venezuela as the “Venezuelan Andes,” is being underthrust from the northwest by the Maracaibo Basin and from the southeast by the Guiana Shield underlying southeastern Venezuela. Thus the Venezuelan Andes are an intracontinental mountain belt.

Caribbean Sea: Physiography: …is partly separated from the Venezuelan Basin by the Beata Ridge. The basins are connected by the submerged Aruba Gap at depths greater than 13,000 feet (4,000 metres). The Aves Ridge, incomplete at its southern extremity, separates the Venezuelan Basin from the small Grenada Basin, which is bounded to the…

mountain: The Andes: …into Venezuela as the “Venezuelan Andes,” is being underthrust from the northwest by the Maracaibo Basin and from the southeast by the Guiana Shield underlying southeastern Venezuela. Thus the Venezuelan Andes are an intracontinental mountain belt.

encephalitis: Epidemics of encephalitis: …Colombia were infected with the Venezuelan strain, which had also spread north through Central America and Mexico and into the United States, causing illness in thousands more people and killing tens of thousands of equines as it spread. A 2002 West Nile virus epidemic in the United States was the…

encephalitis: Epidemics of encephalitis: Strains of Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE), Western equine encephalitis (WEE), and Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus can also cause disease in humans. In the late 1960s some 200,000 people in central Colombia were infected with the Venezuelan strain, which had also spread north through

viral hemorrhagic fever: …fever, Brazilian hemorrhagic fever, and Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever.

Orinoco River: Physiography of the Orinoco Llanos: …of the central and eastern Llanos (the Sabana de Mesas) and the hill country (serranía) south of the Meta River in Colombia. The Low Plains (Llanos Bajos) are defined by two rivers, the Apure in the north and the Meta in the south. The lowest portion of the Llanos is…

sancocho: Venezuelan sancocho: Traditional Venezuelan sancocho is made with oxtail (beef short ribs are sometimes substituted), carrots, potatoes, corn on the cob, and yuca. The soup is usually served with arepas, avocado, a tomato wedge, and a lime wedge.

Tirso de Molina: …strife; and in the biblical La venganza de Tamar (1634), with its violently realistic scenes.

Issa Rae: Acting roles: Novak’s comedy Vengeance (2022), Greta Gerwig’s summer blockbuster Barbie (2023), and Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut American Fiction (2023). She voiced the character of the Honey Queen in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026).

John Banville: Benjamin Black books and mystery series: …A Death in Summer (2011), Vengeance (2012), Holy Orders (2013), and Even the Dead (2015). The eighth installment, April in Spain (2021), was released under Banville’s name.

Roman law: Delict and contract: …from a system of private vengeance to one in which the state insisted that the person wronged accept compensation instead of vengeance. Thus, in the case of assault (injuria), if one man broke another’s limb, talio was still permitted (that is, the person wronged could inflict the same injury as…

Gustav Mahler: Musical works: middle period: …Roman Catholic Pentecost hymn “Veni Creator Spiritus”; part two, amalgamating the three movement-types of the traditional symphony, has for its text the mystical closing scene of J.W. von Goethe’s Faust drama (the scene of Faust’s redemption). The work marked the climax of Mahler’s confident maturity, since what followed was…

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Music of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: …Maria; Tu es Petrus; and Veni Creator Spiritus. These titles refer to the source of the particular cantus firmus. Palestrina’s mastery of contrapuntal ingenuity may be appreciated to the fullest extent in some of his canonic masses (in which one or more voice parts are derived from another voice part).…

venial sin, in Roman Catholic theology, a sin that is relatively slight or that is committed without full reflection or consent. While a venial sin weakens the sinner’s union with God, it is not a deliberate turning away from God and so does not wholly block the inflow of sanctifying grace. An

Aleutian Range: …Katmai (6,715 feet [2,047 metres]), Veniaminof (8,225 feet [2,507 metres]), and Redoubt (10,197 feet [3,108 metres]). The range, named for the Aleuts who inhabit the island region, embraces Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Katmai National Park and Preserve (including the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes), and the Aniakchak National…

Saint Innocent Veniaminov ; canonized Oct. 6, 1977) was the most famous Russian Orthodox missionary priest of the 19th century, who later became Metropolitan Innocent of Moscow. He was canonized in the Russian Church. Veniaminov began his career, from 1824 until 1839, as a parish priest, first in

Saint Innocent Veniaminov ; canonized Oct. 6, 1977) was the most famous Russian Orthodox missionary priest of the 19th century, who later became Metropolitan Innocent of Moscow. He was canonized in the Russian Church. Veniaminov began his career, from 1824 until 1839, as a parish priest, first in

Saint Innocent Veniaminov ; canonized Oct. 6, 1977) was the most famous Russian Orthodox missionary priest of the 19th century, who later became Metropolitan Innocent of Moscow. He was canonized in the Russian Church. Veniaminov began his career, from 1824 until 1839, as a parish priest, first in

Venice, city, major seaport, and capital of both the provincia (province) of Venezia and the regione (region) of Veneto, northern Italy. An island city, it was once the centre of a maritime republic. It was the greatest seaport in late medieval Europe and the continent’s commercial and cultural

Venice, resort city, Sarasota county, west-central Florida, U.S. It lies along the Gulf of Mexico, about 20 miles (30 km) south of Sarasota. Originally a fishing village settled in the 1870s, it was later planned (c. 1925) as a retirement city for members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers;

Venice Biennale, international art exhibition featuring architecture, visual arts, cinema, dance, music, and theatre that is held in the Castello district of Venice every two years during the summer. The Biennale was founded in 1895 as the International Exhibition of Art of the City of Venice to

Venice Film Festival, world’s oldest film festival, held annually in Venice beginning in late August or early September. Officially part of the Venice Biennale, the festival takes place in the picturesque Lido section of the city, and the combination of location and tradition makes it a popular

Venice Film Festival, world’s oldest film festival, held annually in Venice beginning in late August or early September. Officially part of the Venice Biennale, the festival takes place in the picturesque Lido section of the city, and the combination of location and tradition makes it a popular

Venice: Site: …an archipelago in the crescent-shaped Laguna Veneta (Venice Lagoon), which stretches some 32 miles (51 km) from the reclaimed marshes of Jesolo in the north to the drained lands beyond Chioggia at the southern end. The shallow waters of the lagoon are protected by a line of sandbanks, or lidi,…

Venice majolica, tin-glazed earthenware made at Venice that reached its stylistic zenith in the 16th century. The workshops of Maestro Ludovico (fl. 1540–45), Domenigo da Venezia (fl. 1550–60), and Jacomo da Pesaro (fl. 1543) produced outstanding ware of this type. Venetian potters excelled in

Venice majolica, tin-glazed earthenware made at Venice that reached its stylistic zenith in the 16th century. The workshops of Maestro Ludovico (fl. 1540–45), Domenigo da Venezia (fl. 1550–60), and Jacomo da Pesaro (fl. 1543) produced outstanding ware of this type. Venetian potters excelled in

Museum of the Venice Palace, in Rome, museum occupying part of the papal apartment of the first great Renaissance palace of Rome. Dating from the middle of the 15th century, the Palazzo Venezia was built for Cardinal Pietro Barbo, later Pope Paul II. Displayed are fine medieval and Renaissance

Thomas Otway: His masterpiece, Venice Preserved, was one of the greatest theatrical successes of his period.

Orient-Express, luxury train that ran from Paris to Constantinople (Istanbul) for more than 80 years (1883–1977). Europe’s first transcontinental express, it initially covered a route of more than 1,700 miles (about 2,740 km) that included brief stopovers in such cities as Munich, Vienna, Budapest,

turpentine: Venice turpentine, for example, is a pale green, viscous liquid that is collected from the larch (Larix decidua, or L. europea). It is used for lithographic work and in sealing wax and varnishes. See also balsam; Canada balsam.

Gulf of Venice, northern section of the Adriatic Sea (an arm of the Mediterranean Sea), extending eastward for 60 miles (95 km) from the Po River delta, Italy, to the coast of Istria, in Slovenia and Croatia. It receives the Po, Adige, Piave, and Tagliamento rivers. Marshes, lagoons, and sandspits

Holy League, either of two European leagues sponsored by the papacy in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, formed for the purpose of protecting Italy from threatened French domination. The first was the League of 1495 between Pope Alexander VI, the Holy Roman emperor Maximilian I, Aragon’s

Alexander III: Life: …paved the way for the Peace of Venice (1177), which closed this phase of the struggle.

Treaty of Venice, treaty (1201) negotiated between crusaders in the Fourth Crusade and Enrico Dandolo of Venice to provide transport at the cost of 85,000 marks. The crusaders’ failure to fulfill their monetary obligation was a major factor in the diversion of the crusade to Zara and

Felix Andries Vening Meinesz was a Dutch geophysicist and geodesist who was known for his measurements of gravity. Participating in a gravimetric survey of the Netherlands soon after he graduated from Delft Technical University as a civil engineer in 1910, Vening Meinesz devised an apparatus based

Paolo Venini was an Italian glassmaker and designer and manufacturer of glassware, whose works are outstanding for their combination of traditional technique and modern form. His glass factory in Murano contributed to a revival of art-glass manufacture in the 1930s and ’40s and employed some of the

venison, (from Latin venatus, “to hunt”), the meat from any kind of deer; originally, the term referred to any kind of edible game. Venison resembles beef and mutton in texture, colour, and other general characteristics. It has virtually the same chemical composition as beef but is less fatty. Lean

Antoine Watteau: Watteau’s Cythera.: …of Houdar de la Motte, La Vénitienne (1705), in which the invitation to the island of love includes not only the pilgrims of Cythera but also the stock characters of the commedia dell’arte—that is, both of the great themes that Watteau pursued all his life.

emblem book: … (1608) of Octavius Vaenius (Otto van Veen), an important early Dutch emblem book.

Eleuthérios Venizélos was the prime minister of Greece (1910–15, 1917–20, 1924, 1928–32, 1933), the most prominent Greek politician and statesman of the early 20th century. Under his leadership Greece doubled in area and population during the Balkan Wars (1912–13) and also gained territorially and

Eleuthérios Venizélos was the prime minister of Greece (1910–15, 1917–20, 1924, 1928–32, 1933), the most prominent Greek politician and statesman of the early 20th century. Under his leadership Greece doubled in area and population during the Balkan Wars (1912–13) and also gained territorially and

Eleuthérios Venizélos was the prime minister of Greece (1910–15, 1917–20, 1924, 1928–32, 1933), the most prominent Greek politician and statesman of the early 20th century. Under his leadership Greece doubled in area and population during the Balkan Wars (1912–13) and also gained territorially and

elginism: Elginism in history and practice: As Evangelos Venizelos, a recent Greek minister of culture, stated:

Venyukovia, genus of extinct mammallike reptiles (therapsids) that are found as fossils in Permian deposits in eastern Europe (the Permian Period began 299,000,000 years ago and lasted 48,000,000 years). Venyukovia was herbivorous, with primitive teeth; it is thought that Venyukovia may well have

India: Loss of central control: …succeeded by his younger brother Venkata II (reigned 1585–1614), whose ability and constant activity, combined with a relative dearth of interference by the Muslim sultanates, prevented the further disintegration of centralized authority over the next 28 years. A series of wars between 1580 and 1589 resulted in the reacquisition of…

India: Breakup of the empire: …and that of his successor, Venkata III (1630–42), real political power resided at the level of chieftains and provincial governors, who were carving out their own principalities. The fourth Vijayanagar dynasty had become little more than another competing provincial power.

Venkateswara, Hindu deity recognized as an avatar of the god Vishnu. Venkateswara is the paramount deity for followers of the Srivaishnava sect (a form of Vaishnavism in southern India), and devotees seek the god for his ability to grant boons and burn away sins. His most important temple is the

Vedantadeshika was a leading theologian of the Vishishtadvaita (Qualified Nondualist) school of philosophy and founder of the Vadakalai subsect of the Shrivaishnavas, a religious movement of South India. Vedantadeshika was born into a distinguished Shrivaishnava family that followed the teachings

Ramana Maharshi was a Hindu philosopher and yogi called “Great Master,” “Bhagavan” (the Lord), and “the Sage of Arunachala,” whose position on monism (the identity of the individual soul and the creator of souls) and maya (illusion) parallels that of Shankara (c. 700–750). His original contribution

Ramaswamy Venkataraman was an Indian politician, government official, and lawyer who was president of India from 1987 to 1992. Venkataraman studied law at the University of Madras and began his legal practice in 1935. He became involved in India’s independence struggle and was consequently jailed

Venkateswara, Hindu deity recognized as an avatar of the god Vishnu. Venkateswara is the paramount deity for followers of the Srivaishnava sect (a form of Vaishnavism in southern India), and devotees seek the god for his ability to grant boons and burn away sins. His most important temple is the

Venkateswara, Hindu deity recognized as an avatar of the god Vishnu. Venkateswara is the paramount deity for followers of the Srivaishnava sect (a form of Vaishnavism in southern India), and devotees seek the god for his ability to grant boons and burn away sins. His most important temple is the

Venkateswara, Hindu deity recognized as an avatar of the god Vishnu. Venkateswara is the paramount deity for followers of the Srivaishnava sect (a form of Vaishnavism in southern India), and devotees seek the god for his ability to grant boons and burn away sins. His most important temple is the