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An aerial image depicting the interior walls of a Roman temple found in Spello, Italy, which experts believe to be an ancient pagan temple of fourth-century Italy and the late Roman Empire. Source: Douglas Boin/Saint Louis Univiersity

Pagan Temple Shifts Rome's Narrative of Rapid Conversion to Christianity

The ruins of an ancient pagan temple under a parking lot in central Italy 70 miles (112.65 km) north of Rome, sheds light on the cultural shift during the transition from Roman imperial theology to...
Fontanelle Cemetery, Naples. Source: Massimo Santi / Adobe Stock.

Fontanelle Cemetery and Naples’s Cult of the Souls of Purgatory (Video)

The Naples's Cult of the Souls of Purgatory centers around a unique belief system related to the souls in purgatory . The Fontanelle Cemetery, a symbolic location for this cult, evokes an eerie...
The circular monument discovered in Waskiri, Bolivia. Credit: Antiquity.

Ritual Site Connected to Ancient Andean Cults Discovered in Bolivia

Archaeologists in Bolivia have discovered 135 ancient hilltop sites including an enormous circular structure where they say members of ancient Andean cults would have once worshipped the sun. The...
The Eleusinian Mysteries. Source: AI Generated

From Ancient Mystery School to Culture Capital: Eleusis’ Secret Past is Recognized

The ancient city of Eleusis in Greece was the site of one of the most mysterious and revered religious rites of ancient Greece, the Eleusinian Mysteries . The exact nature of the rituals performed...
Roman worships. Source: AI generated.

Sodales Augustales: Rome’s Elite Imperial Cult Dedicated to the Emperor

The Sodales Augustales were a religious organization in ancient Rome dedicated to the worship of the emperor. Composed of prominent citizens, they served as ambassadors and reinforced the emperor's...
The Galli: The Cross-Dressing Cybele Cult Priests Who Castrated Themselves

The Galli: The Cross-Dressing Cybele Cult Priests Who Castrated Themselves

The galli were priests who formed the cult of the goddess Cybele (Magna Mater in Rome) and her consort Attis. Because of the galli’s adoption of women’s clothing and jewelry, self-castration, and...
Representation of the ancient Greek goddess Artemis in the wood hunting. Source: gilitukha/ Adobe Stock

Don’t Mess with the Chaste Huntress and Greek Goddess Artemis

The ancient Greek goddess Artemis was many things to many people. A huntress, virgin, midwife, twin, independent woman, protector, plague-bearer… the list goes on and on. Her appearance did not...
French manuscript from 1512/1514, showing Pythagoras turning his face away from fava beans in revulsion. Source: Public Domain

Did Pythagoras’ Bizarre Fear of Fava Beans Contribute to his Death?

The ancient Ionian Greek philosopher Pythagoras (c.570-495 BC) is widely credited with many foundational mathematic and scientific discoveries. An ardent ascetic vegetarian, several myths emerged...
The Hashshashins were a military group of trained fedayeen fighters, also known as the Order of Assassins. Source: warmtail / Adobe Stock

The Notorious Hashshashins, the Original Assassins of Persia

When it comes to legends, none is quite as moviesque as that of the Hashshashins, who in the Middle Ages inspired fear in the hearts of leaders in the Middle East. Hassan-i Sabbah, dubbed the Old Man...
A group of Thuggees strangling a traveler on a highway in India in the early 19th century. Source: Public domain

Thuggees – The Cult Assassins of India

Thuggees, from the Sanskrit word meaning “concealment”, were an organized gang of professional assassins – sometimes described as the world's first mafia – who operated from the 13th to the 19th...
Archaeologists excavating a large, engraved granite block at the Zeus Kasios temple at Tell el-Farma, Egypt.	Source: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Ancient Zeus Kasios Temple Unearthed In Egypt

Archaeologists in Egypt have excavated a vast temple built by members of the mysterious cult of Zeus Kasios . The Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry announced on Monday that archaeologists...
Detail of 16th-century prayer roll under analysis. Source: Gail Turner / Journal of the British Archaeological Association

16th-Century Prayer Roll Exposes Medieval Religious Cult

A first-time study of a privately owned 16th-century prayer roll from England is a valuable addition to knowledge on medieval England’s Christian ‘cult of the Cross’ in which the Holy Cross was...
A group of three mustatils.

Mapping Mustatils, Saudi Arabia’s 7000-Year-Old Stone Monuments

Over 7,000 years ago, people built hundreds of large stone structures in the area that is now northwest Arabia. Archaeologists have identified this act as the earliest known example of a widespread...
Moai on Rapa Nui, aka Easter Island. Source: thakala /Adobe Stock

Hidden Rapa Nui: Easter Island’s Cults, Cannibals, and Cultural Connections

Two-thousand-and-two-hundred miles (3,500 km) west beyond the coast of Chile, in the dark blue belly of the southeastern Pacific Ocean, hides Easter Island. A slightly more appropriate name of this...
Inscribed Byzantine Greek Stone Dedicated To Mary Discovered in Israel

Inscribed Byzantine Greek Stone Dedicated To Mary Discovered in Israel

An ancient, inscribed Byzantine Greek stone has been discovered in Israel’s Negev desert with a rare Greek dedication to Maria, the Mother of God. The Byzantine Greek stone was found in Israel’s...
Skeleton of a 30–40 year-old woman with a decorated  ivory button on her chest, from the first tomb

Unique Cyprus Death Cult Treasures Uncovered at Mass Burial Site

Excavators in Cyprus have discovered a series of “sensational finds” of death cult artifacts dating to 3,500 years ago, during the Bronze Age. A vessel used as a cult funerary object, a seal with...
Sobekneferu’s Legacy: The Sacred Places of Egypt’s First Female Pharaoh

Sobekneferu’s Legacy: The Sacred Places of Egypt’s First Female Pharaoh

In part one , we saw how Egypt’s first female pharaoh Sobekneferu (also written Neferusobek) has emerged as a major character both in literary fiction and in the cinema. Her mysterious life and...
One of the many statues of Neptune, Roman god of fresh and sea water and more.    Source: eurobanks / Adobe Stock

Neptune: The Evolving Roman God Of Fresh Water, The Sea and Horses

The ancient Romans believed that Neptune was the god of the sea. Although he is most commonly compared to the Greek god Poseidon , this had not always been the case. Originally, Neptune was a god of...
Temple at Samothrace, Greece         Source: Evgeni Dinev / Adobe Stock

Sanctuary of the Mysterious ‘Great Gods’ on the Island of Samothrace

One of the most enigmatic archaeological sites in all of Greece is that of the Samothrace Temple Complex. These impressive ruins are located on the island of Samothrace, also known as Samothraki, in...
Mithras and the bull, fresco from Temple of Mithras, Marino, Italy, dated 2nd century AD.    Source: Public Domain

Mithras, the Persian God Championed by the Roman Army

Mithras the god originated in the east, in Persia (modern day Iran) where he was first worshipped. When soldiers of the Roman Empire came back to the West they brought this cult with them and in time...
Representation of a mystery school. Source: leks_052 / Adobe stock

Initiation to Secrecy: Unravelling the Truth Behind Mystery Schools

As the great Irish esotericist John Heron Lepper wrote, one could say that the existence of secret or closed societies [namely mystery schools] – in which certain teachings or practices are passed on...
Main: The Tel Motza Iron Age temple excavation site in Jerusalem.    Source: Skyview / Israel Antiquities Authority.     Inset: Ancient figurines of people found at Tel Motza.        Source: Clara Amit / Israel Antiquities Authority

Iron Age Temple Uncovered in Jerusalem Challenges Biblical Claim

The famous Temple of Solomon might not have been the first or only temple in the Holy Land. Dating to around 900 BC, an Iron Age temple located near Jerusalem negates the long-held idea the ancient...
Fertility goddesses can be found in all cultures and times. Source: zolotareva_elina /Adobe Stock

Praying For Life – Top 10 Ancient Fertility Goddesses

Throughout the ancient history of the world, polytheism - commonly known as paganism or heathenism - was the defining aspect of all societies and civilizations. Our ancestors had complex and...
Reconstruction of the “Mithraeum of Colored Marbles.” The ‘spelaeum’, the most important room in the Mithraeum, is shown on the bottom level.            Source: G Albertini / Live Science

Dazzling Temple to Cult God Mithras Uncovered in Italy

A 1600-year-old temple in which the ancient god Mithras was worshipped has been discovered beneath Roman ruins in Ostia, Italy. A magnificent ancient building, which is being described as the ‘...

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