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During the second half of the third millennium BC the land of Sumer and in fact the entire Mesopotamian region came under the control of the Akkadians, a Semitic people who had lived for centuries...
The 2,000-year-old sculpture of the Dying Gaul is a larger-than-life marble sculpture of a nude man on the ground holding himself with one arm, resting weakly on an outstretched leg. His hand sits...
The Historia Augusta stands as a paradox within the annals of Roman historiography, a perplexing blend of fact and fiction, offering both insights into the imperial era and challenges to historical...
The act of divination is believed to be one of the earliest forms of religious activity, with a rich history dating back thousands of years and across multiple civilizations. The word itself, rooted...
In 1956, a hypothesis was proposed by UCLA archaeology and anthropology professor Marija Gimbutas. Her proposal, which was in part based on prior work by Otto Schrader (1883) and V. Gordon Childe (...
They approach me in Lascaux caves on their hands and knees, one carrying a stave atop which tarred plant debris has been wound, set alight from the campfire, which itself was lit from a spark glowing...
When Alexander the Great invaded the Far East, his armies were awed by the strange cultures, exotic animals, and unknown religions of India. Alexander promoted a fusion of cultures and his successors...
The history of Christianity is a tapestry woven with diverse threads of belief, shaped by centuries of theological debates and regional schisms. From its humble beginnings in Jerusalem, Christianity...
When the citizens of Rome ousted their last king in 509 BC, power was divided between the magistrates, the Senate, and the assemblies of the people. This partition of authority, which characterized...
Famed for their ruthless fighting skills and brave exploring, little is written about Viking religion and their day-to-day ritual practices which were arguably a more central component in Norse...
Perhaps 3,000 years from now archaeologists will be debating the reasons for the diaspora that occurred in the lands around the Mediterranean Sea during the early 21st century. What would have...
In the twilight of the medieval period, amidst the clash of crusades and kingdoms, unfolds the poignant saga of King Pierre I de Lusignan and his courtier, Joanna l’Aleman—a forbidden love story that...
In the Renaissance, magic was a convergence of science, philosophy, and the mystical, reflecting the era's quest for knowledge and understanding of the world. Unlike today's clear demarcation between...
The city of Acte had not formally been bestowed with divine protection. However, its king, Cecrops, ushered a golden period so remarkable that the city was then renamed Cecropia and the gods...
Today’s world is run by massive corporations which are ever-present in the lives of everyone on the planet. Everything from computers, software, soft drinks, fast food, coffee and cell phones are...
In traditional Andean cosmovision, the natural world and the divine are united, and offering ceremonies are seen as a part of the reciprocity system between the material and spiritual worlds...
In his work De Die Natali (The Birthday Book), written in 238 AD, Censorinus, a Roman grammarian and author, discusses the concept of the Great Year in Chapter XVIII. He writes “The 1461st year by...
The Celtic Otherworld has always been a mystery; a strange, mysterious, and elusive place. What is not always appreciated is the extent to which the Celtic Otherworld, especially the magic Island of...
The high priests of the Inca Empire of ancient Peru used their sacred texts, known as the Codes of Sacred Geography, to build sacred community centers ( wakas ) along 42 long-distance ceque lines...
One of the largest Bronze Age archaeological sites in Crete is the palace ruins at Knossos. The passageways have an elaborate layout and one can still see murals that show a sport in which men would...
The temples of ancient Egypt represent one of the most enduring monumental expressions of religion and cosmology in the history of the world, serving as the very heart of pharaonic culture for nearly...
In the aftermath of the Romans’ departure from Britain in the fifth century AD, the coast of the former Roman province was left vulnerable to various invaders who sought to establish kingdoms of...
By 190 AD, the debauched life of emperor Commodus had reached a sinister summit. Never had the Roman Empire been led by such a disgraceful character. Probably mad, he identified himself with the god...
A young Indigenous man, a Pilgrim, has been walking all day carrying a large bundle basket on his back. His long black hair is tied up in a bun at the back of his head, and he has new, round,...