East, in geography, the direction of the rising sun. The east has been invested with a certain sacred character from the earliest times. The ancient pagans placed their altars in the eastern part of their temples, that they might sacrifice to the rising sun. From time immemorial it has been customary among many peoples to bury with the feet toward the east, in order that the dead may face the rising sun. Although the Mohammedan prays with his face toward Mecca, in whatever part of the globe he may be, it has long been the custom among Christians to build their cathedrals with the choir toward the east. The traditional source of civilization is in the east. The wise men of the Scriptures came from the east. "Westward," not eastward, "the star of empire takes its way." Mathematically considered, a line drawn east and west is everywhere parallel to the earth's equator. That being the case, each parallel on the earth's surface has its east in a direction of its own. The two poles, however, have neither east nor west.