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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.

Pagans in a Modern World: What is Neopaganism?
11 March, 2017 - 18:58 dhwty

Pagans in a Modern World: What is Neopaganism?

Modern Paganism (known also as Neopaganism or Contemporary Paganism) is a movement / group of religions / spiritual traditions centered on the reverence of nature. Modern Paganism borrows and adapts...
Osterby Man Still Has a Great Hairdo Nearly 2,000 Years On!
9 March, 2017 - 23:01 Caleb Strom

Osterby Man Still Has a Great Hairdo Nearly 2,000 Years On!

Since at least the 18th century AD, there have been discoveries in northwestern continental Europe and Britain of “bog bodies” - human remains which have been preserved in the anoxic environment of...
Phryne on the Poseidon's celebration in Eleusis by Nikolay Pavlenko, 1894
6 March, 2017 - 22:59 Theodoros Karasavvas

The Ancient Greek Symposium: Just an Excuse for Debauchery?

It’s no secret that the ancient Greeks loved to have parties, dance and drink for every occasion. It could be celebrating a birth, the arrival of a loved person or a marriage. Indeed, in many cases...
High Fashion of Ancient Egypt: The Bead-Net Dress
5 March, 2017 - 19:26 dhwty

High Fashion of Ancient Egypt: The Bead-Net Dress

Fashion trends are not just a modern construction. In ancient Egypt, looking fashionable was an important part of everyday life, especially for the elite members of society. One of the high class...
A Roman Ring with Linked Hands – this was a popular design for Roman wedding rings.
3 March, 2017 - 13:57 dhwty

Roman Engagement and Wedding Rings: Joining Hands and Hearts

The use of engagement rings and wedding rings are common in Western culture to indicate a person’s relationship status. This tradition may be traced back to ancient times, in particular, to the Roman...
Luminous red nova star - V838 Monocerotis, courtesy NASA, STScI, ESA (Public Domain); Eye of Providence (Public Domain); Deriv.
1 March, 2017 - 13:58 Graham Phillips

Secret Societies and Hidden Knowledge: The Explosive Star that Inspired the Modern World

A few weeks ago, astronomers announced that in 2022 something truly spectacular is to occur: a new star will appear in the heavens. It will be the first such event visible with the naked eye for over...
‘The Banquet Scene’ relief panel, 645BC-635BC.
27 February, 2017 - 19:23 dhwty

Gazelle Stewed in Broth and Garlic: Would You Try These 3,700-Year-Old Recipes for the Babylonian Elite?

"A cuisine of striking richness, refinement, sophistication and artistry, which is surprising from such an early period,” is how French Assyriologist and gourmet chef Jean Bottero, who decoded three...
"Alchemist Sędziwój" by Jan Matejko: alchemist, and pioneer chemis.
16 February, 2017 - 13:40 Natalia Klimczak

Icelandic Magic, Witchcraft, and Sorcery and the Tragic Case of Jón Rögnvaldsson

Traditions relating to the dark and fascinating practices of witchcraft in Iceland are as old as the first human settlements on the island. Countless people paid for these practices with their lives...
Being Lovesick Was a Real Disease in the Middle Ages
14 February, 2017 - 13:48 ancient-origins

Being Lovesick Was a Real Disease in the Middle Ages

Love sure does hurt, as the Everly Brothers knew very well. And while it is often romanticised or made sentimental, the brutal reality is that many of us experience fairly unpleasant symptoms when in...
Some Top Tips for Valentine’s Day … from Medieval Lovers
14 February, 2017 - 01:54 ancient-origins

Some Top Tips for Valentine’s Day … from Medieval Lovers

If you’d asked someone to be your Valentine before the 14th century, they’d probably have looked at you as if you were mad. And checked you weren’t holding an axe. There were two saints by the name...
Why Did Parents in the Chinookan tribe Perform Cranial Deformation on their Babies?
12 February, 2017 - 13:57 Riley Winters

Why Did Parents in the Chinookan tribe Perform Cranial Deformation on their Babies?

Beauty is a fickle thing. Worse than that, it is (as often as not) one of the most painful goals in the realms of the wealthy and elite. In China, the binding of feet was once seen to create...
Galician Faith in the Enchanted Mouros and Mouras: Is There Reality Behind the Fairytales?
11 February, 2017 - 01:51 Natalia Klimczak

Galician Faith in the Enchanted Mouros and Mouras: Is There Reality Behind the Fairytales?

Numerous folk stories in Galicia, Spain, tell of supernatural spirits that dwell in forests, among the waters of the rivers, or on sandy beaches. Many of them are related in some ways to ancient...
Said to Cure Everything but Death, These Seeds are an Ancient Miracle Cure
8 February, 2017 - 19:07 Veronica Parkes

Said to Cure Everything but Death, These Seeds are an Ancient Miracle Cure

The black cumin seed or “Nigella Sativa” has been revered as a miracle cure for a vast amount of illnesses and ailments throughout the ages and across many cultures. The plant is indigenous to the...
Tripping through Time: The Fascinating History of the Magic Mushroom
1 February, 2017 - 19:57 Robert Brusco

Tripping through Time: The Fascinating History of the Magic Mushroom

The psilocybin group of mushrooms, popularly known as magic mushrooms, shrooms or psychedelic mushrooms, is found in over two hundred varieties around the world. We know them today as a recreational...
A Strange Ancient Dance with Unknown Origins – How Far Back Does the Morris Dance Really Go?
1 February, 2017 - 01:55 dhwty

A Strange Ancient Dance with Unknown Origins – How Far Back Does the Morris Dance Really Go?

Morris dancing is a type of folk dance from England. It is unclear as to when Morris Dancing began to be performed, though there is evidence that this dance has existed for several centuries, the...
No Gossiping, Gluttony, Lying, or Eavesdropping! European Metal Masks Would Shame You into Good Behavior
28 January, 2017 - 13:54 dhwty

No Gossiping, Gluttony, Lying, or Eavesdropping! European Metal Masks Would Shame You into Good Behavior

Shame masks were a type of embarrassing punishment device used in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. As its name suggests, the shame mask was meant to humiliate the person who was forced to...
Detail of the hand section of the jade burial suit of Liu Sui, Prince of Liang, of Western Han
23 January, 2017 - 13:50 Natalia Klimczak

Fit for a King: Royals of Ancient China Buried in Jade Ceremonial Suits

Perceptions of the afterlife have inspired thousands of weird ideas for burial rituals around the world. One example comes in form of the remarkably beautiful and fascinating ceremonial suits created...
Santa Compaña: A Procession of Souls That Spreads Fear Through the Villages of Iberia
22 January, 2017 - 19:56 Natalia Klimczak

Santa Compaña: A Procession of Souls That Spreads Fear Through the Villages of Iberia

Picture a group of the dead passing down the street next to your house. They sing out deathly stories and spread a creepy energy that makes you feel your skin crawl. You want to escape, but you can’t...
Magic in Ancient Greece: Necromancy, Curses, Love Spells, and Oracles
11 January, 2017 - 14:43 marinasohma

Magic in Ancient Greece: Necromancy, Curses, Love Spells, and Oracles

The magical traditions of ancient Greece encompassed spells, curse tablets, drugs, potions, poisons, amulets, and talismans. For many cultures of the past, there was a very fine line between magic,...
Harking Back: The Ancient Pagan Festivities in our Christmas Rituals
23 December, 2016 - 03:56 ancient-origins

Harking Back: The Ancient Pagan Festivities in our Christmas Rituals

When we think of the Romans, gift-giving, carol-singing and celebrating the birth of Christ don’t immediately present themselves. Waging wars, general oppression and a never-ending desire to rule the...
‘Festa di Pales, o L'estate’ by Joseph-Benoît Suvée
22 December, 2016 - 03:55 ancient-origins

The Busy Romans Needed a Mid-Winter Break Too … and it Lasted for 24 days

In the Doctor Who Christmas Special from 2010, Michael Gambon’s Scrooge-like character remarks that across different cultures and worlds people come together to mark the midpoint of winter. It is, he...
The Holly and the Ivy: How Pagan Practices Found Their Way into Christmas
20 December, 2016 - 03:48 ancient-origins

The Holly and the Ivy: How Pagan Practices Found Their Way into Christmas

Every year, almost without thinking about it, we incorporate certain plant species into out Christmas celebrations. The most obvious is the Christmas tree, linked historically in England to Prince...
Why Ghosts Haunt England at Christmas but Steer Clear of America
19 December, 2016 - 03:45 ancient-origins

Why Ghosts Haunt England at Christmas but Steer Clear of America

A few years ago, the Downton Abbey Christmas special featured a ouija board which communicated a message from a dead character. American reviewers were extremely puzzled by this incursion of the...
A group of Trinovantes at a graveside in Colchester by Peter Froste.
14 December, 2016 - 14:47 Natalia Klimczak

The So-Called Druid of Colchester: Physician, Mystical Man, or Both?

In 1996, a team of researchers unearthed a unique burial of a mysterious man. The odd remains and specific funerary equipment thrilled the archaeologists. Was the man who lived 2,000 years ago an...

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