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Ancient Traditions

Ancient Origins brings you articles related to Ancient Traditions from all over the world. Find related articles in the sections of history, archaeology, human origins, unexplained, artifacts, ancient places and myths and legends.

Formidable Viking in Armor with axe.
6 February, 2019 - 22:57 ancient-origins

Ragnar Shaggy-Trousers and Eystein Foul-Fart: The Truth Behind Viking Names

Vikings are pretty trendy of late. Marvel’s Thor films, for example, gave Viking mythology the Hollywood treatment and plonked its characters in contemporary America. There have been multiple Viking...
Inside the planned mid-England Barrow.
3 February, 2019 - 18:36 Ed Whelan

A Return to Ancient Burial Traditions: Want to Be Buried in a Barrow?

Humanity has buried their dead in a variety of ways, down the ages. In the distant past the dead were often buried in barrows. It has been many millennia since one of these burial sites has been...
Statue of ancient Greek athlete
3 February, 2019 - 14:00 dhwty

Before the Olympiad There Was The Panathenaea – The Greek Festival and Games to Honor Athena

The Panathenaea was an ancient and important festival celebrated in the ancient Greek city state of Athens. This festival was held in honor of Athena Polias , the city’s patron goddess, and...
Woman in the countryside
2 February, 2019 - 18:21 Sarah P Young

Kulning: The Ancient Swedish Herding Call That Has Echoed Through the Ages

Kulning is a vocal art with its origins in the forests and mountains of Scandinavia. It was first used as a method to call back cattle who were left free to graze in the wild landscape, but it is...
Old iron chastity belt from Middle Ages.
29 January, 2019 - 22:54 Sarah P Young

The Long Fascination With the Chastity Belt – But Was it Just A Fantasy?

The chastity belt is an item that titillates and fascinates in equal measure. The idea of the brave medieval knight locking up his beloved, naively believing a mere padlock would be enough to keep...
Woman at Petra.
28 January, 2019 - 17:36 Sarah P Young

Were the Women of Petra More Important Than the Men?

The Nabataeans were a society who inhabited Arabia and the Southern Levant from the 3rd century BC to approximately 106 AD when the Nabataean kingdom was annexed by the Roman Empire. Known for their...
Thai style garden. Located in Royal Park Rajapruek, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
27 January, 2019 - 13:58 ancient-origins

Heaven on Earth: The Ancient Roots of The Backyard Garden

You don’t have to be an avid gardener or know all the Latin names of plants to appreciate the opportunity for reflection that a stroll in the garden can afford us. The explosion of colors, shapes,...
Relief representing a two-headed eagle on the sphinx located at the right of the Sphinx Gate, Alaca Höyük, Turkey.
24 January, 2019 - 13:59 Carly Silver

How a Two Headed Bird of Prey Ruled Ancient Mesopotamia and Hatti

Several infamous empires of the early modern period and current modern periods bore curious insignia. The Byzantine, Austrian, and Russian Empires all adopted the symbol of a mythical creature, a...
The Anchorite Tradition of Voluntary Incarceration and Devotion to God
17 January, 2019 - 18:55 dhwty

The Anchorite Tradition of Voluntary Incarceration and Devotion to God

An anchorite or anchoret (anchoress being its female form) was person who chose to “live alone in prayer to worship God, unceasingly and without distraction.” Although other Christian ascetics share...
The Capitoline Triad, the Museum of Guidonia.
16 January, 2019 - 19:00 dhwty

What Was the Significance of The Capitoline Triad to the Roman Pantheon?

The Capitoline Triad was a trio of gods worshiped by the ancient Romans. This trio consisted of a male deity – Jupiter, the supreme god of the Roman pantheon and head of the triad, and two female...
Snake oil in Sapa.
13 January, 2019 - 18:58 ashley cowie

Snake Oil Has Long Been Deemed A ‘Fake Medicine’, But It’s Not Guilty, It Really Does Cure!

In the late 19th century, microscopes enabled scientists to observe the microbial effectivity of medicines in the treatment of ailments and these new skills finally dislodged many traditional ‘...
Example of Anthropodermic bibliopegy – an 18-19th century notebook allegedly covered with human skin.
12 January, 2019 - 23:03 dhwty

Books Bound in Human Skin – The Practice Isn’t As Rare As You Might Think!

Anthropodermic bibliopegy refers to the practice of binding books in human skin . According to folk legend, the binding of books (or more appropriately manuscripts, as they were hand-written) in...
Lottery in China from 1910.
10 January, 2019 - 22:58 dhwty

From Dividing Biblical Lands to Avoiding Execution In Rome, Public Life Has a Long History of Lotteries

On the 19th of November 1994, the first draw of the UK’s National Lottery took place. The jackpot was worth £5.8 million and was shared between seven ticket holders. The history of lotteries, however...
Symbol of the Order of Santiago.
5 January, 2019 - 14:02 dhwty

Order of Santiago: The Knights of Spain and Their ‘Holy War’

The Order of Santiago is a Christian religious-military order of knights that was founded in Spain during the Middle Ages. Like the Templars and Hospitallers, the order was established to protect...
The astronomical ceiling at the Pronaos, Detail of the first Band west from the center. From left to right: two wind creatures (the winged ram with four heads personifies the south wind), the snake- and frog-headed eight goddesses and gods of the Ogdoad who ruled the cosmos before the creation of the world and Osiris seated on a throne sails across the sky as personification of the full moon accompanied by the seated goddesses Nephtys (left) and Isis on the right (Maat stands near the bow of the ship). Siri
2 January, 2019 - 18:58 Walter Cruttenden

Changing Colors and Scampering Across the Night Sky: What Did the Ancients Say about Sirius?

In Egypt, Sirius was the Star of Isis, Isis being the companion and rescuer of the god Osiris. In a very deep way, Osiris was Egypt. His body was believed to be the body of Egypt, an actual overlay...
The Royal Game of Ur.
21 December, 2018 - 14:02 dhwty

The Enigmatic Ancient Royal Game of Ur – Will We Ever Understand It?

The Royal Game of Ur (known also as the Game of Twenty Squares) is a board game from ancient Mesopotamia. This two-player game is one of the oldest known board games and was immensely popular in the...
Grinding bones into bread - human skull and fresh bread.
20 December, 2018 - 18:03 dhwty

The Desperate and Distasteful Practice of Grinding Human Bones to Make Bread

Fee-fi-fo-fum! I smell the blood of an English man: Be he alive, or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread. The rhyme comes from the popular fairy tale, Jack and the Beanstalk , and is one...
Brave Scot with an amazing beard and mustache curls in the Hungarian style.
15 December, 2018 - 01:31 ancient-origins

Beards, Business and a History of Facial Hair in the Workplace

By Lucy Newton / The Conversation Recording the human face in art is a long-held tradition, from the Roman Bust to the 15th century Dutch painting. The portrait signals power, prestige and wealth...
Egyptian pyramids under a night sky. Several researchers believe astronomical alignments at this site point to signs of an ancient advanced civilization.
13 December, 2018 - 23:03 Walter Cruttenden

Ancient Astronomical Alignments: Reading and Mapping the Stars at Early Advanced Civilization Sites

Many of the cuneiform tablets of Mesopotamia and hieroglyphs of Egypt make reference to the sun, stars, or planetary positions. Also, a number of ancient structures in many parts of the world are...
Which is the real Santa Claus? Portrait of Saint Nicholas (BigStockPhoto), Santa Claus with tree and sack (Public Domain), and a modern depiction of Santa Claus.
13 December, 2018 - 01:56 ancient-origins

This Christmas Tell Your Children the Real Santa Claus Story

Lisa Bitel / The Conversation Santa Claus will soon be coming to town, bringing gifts to children. Santa has several aliases, depending on the part of the world you live in. The English call him...
Old man beguiled by courtesans.
11 December, 2018 - 17:59 Veronica Parkes

Protection or Profit? The 1000 Prostitutes Employed by the Church in 12th Century London

The modern Christian church does not condone prostitution and would never consider getting involved with it. However, in 12 th century England, a borough of London known as Southwark had eighteen...
Amazonian Shaman Smoking
6 December, 2018 - 18:49 Thanush Poulsen

Kill or Cure: The Evolution of Addiction Treatment Through the Ages

As far back as history has been recorded, mankind has been using hallucinogens , opioids and stimulants for many varied purposes. Medical treatments, nutritional supplements, religious rituals, and...
The Funeral of a Viking - painting 1893.
5 December, 2018 - 22:58 dhwty

What Really Happened at Viking Funerals? It’s Not What You Think!

Like many ancient societies, the Vikings believed in an afterlife, and these were based on the religious beliefs they held. The current understanding of Viking funerary practices has been discovered...
‘The Birth of the Milky Way’ (1636-1637) by Peter Paul Rubens.
1 December, 2018 - 18:50 dhwty

Breastfeeding Beliefs: From Invincibility to Universal Creation

Breastfeeding is an infant feeding practice in which a child is fed breast milk directly from breast to mouth. Breastfeeding could be performed by the mother herself or by a wet nurse. Evidence of...

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