All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

goddess

Illustration of people during the Bronze Age.

Child Miners, Mother Goddesses, and One of the Greatest Powers of the Bronze Age

In ancient times, metal ores such as tin and copper were hard to come by. So in 4,500 BC when the innovators discovered how to produce bronze from a mixture of the two, there was a mad rush to...
A painting of Snowdonia in Wales by Mansel Lewis.

The Tragic Tale of Welsh Goddess Branwen and her Death by Broken Heart

Branwen is an ancient Goddess from Wales. She is also a major character of the famous book Mabinogi (Mabinogion). Although she is often related to folklore, there are some interesting pieces of...
Terror of the toilet

Beware the Supernatural Bathroom Spirits, Toilet Deities, and Dung Demons

Every place in the world has its own legends and superstitions. These led to beliefs about gods, demons, and spirits which haunt a certain location. Even toilets have their own otherworldly beings...
Incredible Megaliths of India: Star Maps and Headless Goddesses

Incredible Megaliths of India: Star Maps and Headless Goddesses – Part I

That India has many thousands of megaliths is something that deserves to be more widely known. These monuments include Menhirs (tall standing stones), alignments, avenues, stone circles, cysts,...
The Ancient of Days (William Blake, 1794)

Ancient Gods – When Darkness Ruled the World

Darkness is the opposite of brightness and it is characterized by the absence of visible light. The emotional response of humans to darkness has led to many culturally different metaphorical usages...
Beira, Queen of Winter

Beira, Queen of Winter

In Scottish folklore, Beira is said to be the goddess of winter. According to some sources, she is known also as the Cailleach, a name which is said to be translated literally into English from...
Meetings with the Queen of Elphame: A Magical and Protective Fairy Queen

Meetings with the Queen of Elphame: A Magical and Protective Fairy Queen

Fairies are common beings in European folklore, perhaps even since pre-Roman times. They are known in most cultures and in different regions around the world. Many legends say that the fairies’...
Female Druids, the Forgotten Priestesses of the Celts

Female Druids, the Forgotten Priestesses of the Celts

In medieval Irish legends they were called Banduri or Bandorai. Their existence was confirmed by ancient Greek and Roman writers. But who were the legendary female Druids? The Druids were the ancient...
The Egyptian Goddess Isis, Found in India

The Egyptian Goddess Isis, Found in India

One of the great, largely untold adventure stories of late antiquity is the journey to the East, from Egypt’s Red Sea ports, across the open ocean for 40 days and 40 nights, to the legendary entrepôt...
Morgan le Fay by Frederick Sandys.

The Bewitching Tale of Morgan le Fay, a Captivating Character of Arthurian Legend

The legendary Morgan le Fay is quite often mixed with the Celtic goddess Morrigan. The two strong females seem to be separate women, but there is also a possibility that they are linked with each...
Two of the statues of the goddess Sekhmet.

Eight More Statues of the Ancient Egyptian Goddess Sekhmet Found in Luxor

Eight statues of the goddess Sekhmet have been discovered in the temple of Amenhotep III at Kôm El-Hettan on the west bank of the Nile. The black granite statues were found during excavations which...
The Nurturing Goddess Ninsun: Worshipped by Ancient Mesopotamians and the Mother of Gilgamesh

The Nurturing Goddess Ninsun: Worshipped by Ancient Mesopotamians and the Mother of Gilgamesh

Ninsun is a female figure found in Sumerian mythology. She is a goddess whose parents are the deities Anu (the sky god) and Uras (a goddess of the earth). As a goddess, Ninsun was worshipped by the...
Hypatia. Signed A. Seifert. Oil on panel, St Catherine of Alexandria

Is St Catherine of Alexandria a Fictional Person Based on Hypatia of Alexandria?

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as The Great Martyr Saint Catherine, is one of the most important saints of the Middle East. Tradition says that she was a virgin who was martyred at the...
Area Sacra di Largo Argentina in Rome

Four Sanctuaries for The Gods: Area Sacra di Largo Argentina in Rome

An ancient secret is buried in front of us—just meters below our current street level. Four years ago Spanish researchers of the Institute of History of the Center for Humanities and Social Sciences...
The bronze statuette of Artemis and the marble one of Apollo.

Spectacular Statuettes of Apollo and Artemis Discovered in Rare State of Preservation in Crete

While the size of the find may be small, the quality is great. Archaeologists working in Aptera in Iraklio, Crete, have recently unearthed well-preserved statuettes of the mythical Greek goddess...
Fortuna (1754) by Tadeusz Kuntze. National Museum in Warsaw.

The Goddess Tyche as Lady Luck

Throughout time, humanity has given great consideration to elements believed to bring good fortune our way. The more people believe that they can control unpredictable forces, the more they trust...
Side B of the Enigmatic Phaistos Disc. Figurine of goddess Astarte with horned headdress

Enigmatic Phaistos Disc may be Ancient Hymn to Astarte, Goddess of Love

An enigmatic clay tablet pulled from the ruins of an ancient Minoan palace has been one of the most puzzling mysteries in archaeology. But now a linguist believes a goddess is the key to unlocking...
Featured Image: Britomart viewing Artegal from  The Faerie Queene, (1895-1897) W. Crane (Wikimedia Commons)

Britomartis: The Original Virgin Huntress

The Minoan mistress of hunting and sea navigation, Britomartis is considered to be one of many goddesses to have been absorbed into classical Greek mythology. Britomartis appears to have played an...
Cerridwen: Mother, Magician, and Crone from Old Welsh Mythology

Cerridwen: Mother, Magician, and Crone from Old Welsh Mythology

An enchantress from Welsh mythology, Cerridwen is regarded as a woman of incredible power and magic. She pervades Welsh and Irish culture as an emblem of wisdom and rebirth, remaining today as a...
The Defense of the Sampo, by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, shows Louhi in the form of a flying, winged creature. Created in 1895 by unknown artist.

Loviatar: Finnish Goddess of Desolation, Death, and Decay

Known as the blind daughter in Finnish mythology, Loviatar is the goddess of death and disease. Born from the union of Tuoni, the god of death, and his underworld queen Tuonetar, Loviatar is...
The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat

The Veneration and Worship of Felines in Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians revered and worshipped many animals, just as the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Norse did, but none were worshipped as reverently as the cat. It was not until the Pre-dynastic...
Ancient Roman Curse Tablets

Ancient Roman Curse Tablets Invoke Goddess Sulis Minerva to Kill and Maim

Although the ancient Romans were the first people to have had a fire brigade, they did not have a police force (apart from a night-watch). Thus, victims of minor crimes such as petty theft had to...
Göbekli Tepe excavation site, Turkey

The Secret of Gobekli Tepe: Cosmic Equinox and Sacred Marriage - Part II

Sun and moon iconography can be found on the impressive standing pillars of Göbeklitepe, the Neolithic temples that are among the most important archaeological sites of our time. Guest author Özgür...
Famous painting depicts the goddess Aphrodite-Venus, having emerged from the sea as a fully grown woman, arriving at the sea-shore.

Temple in ancient city of Odessus reveals Greek Goddess Aphrodite was worshipped by Thracians

A new look into a Thracian temple buried beneath Roman baths is challenging what researchers once thought about the worship of deities in the ancient city of Odessus, now the Bulgarian Black Sea city...

Pages