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Battle between Veles and Perun.

Veles and Perun: The Legendary Battle of Two Slavic Gods

Veles and Perun are two deities found in the religion of the Slavs prior to the coming of Christianity. The Pre-Christian Slavs were polytheists, and worshipped a pantheon of deities, just like the...
Chartres Cathedral, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France. The north facade.

The Chartres Cathedral – A Sacred Site for Ancient Druids and Christians

The monumental Chartres Cathedral hides within its walls stories which connect the world of ancient Druids, the cult of the Divine Feminine and Christianity. It is located on a leyline linking...
Assembly of twenty gods, predominantly the Twelve Olympians, as they receive Psyche (Loggia di Psiche, 1518–19, by Raphael and his school, at the Villa Farnesina).

Disbelieve it or Not, Ancient History Suggests That Atheism is as Natural to Humans as Religion

People in the ancient world did not always believe in the gods, a new study suggests – casting doubt on the idea that religious belief is a “default setting” for humans. “Early societies were far...
The Gate of Nimrud (Metropolitan Museum)

The Mythical Lamassu: Impressive Symbols for Mesopotamian Protection

Lamassu are human-headed, eagle-winged, bulls or lions that once protected cities in Mesopotamia. They were believed to be very powerful creatures, and served both as a clear reminder of the king’s...
‘Leif Eriksson Discovers America’ by Christian Krohg (1893).

Years Before Columbus: Leif Erikson, His Life and His Voyage of Adventure to the New World

Many people still believe that the person who “discovered” America was Christopher Columbus, forgetting the fact that there were already indigenous people living there. An additional fact that is...
Illustration of a range of 'sea monsters' in Carta Marina (Ocean Map)

Aspidochelone: A Giant Sea Monster of the Ancient World and an Allegorical Beast

In ancient Greece there was a large and dangerous sea monster called the aspidochelone , which could be translated as asp-turtle . The people who described it for centuries probably just saw a whale...
Pope Gregory XIII, portrait by Lavinia Fontana (Public Domain) A Page from a 1584 version of the Gregorian Calendar.

New Year, Old Calendar: The Origins and Controversy of the Gregorian Calendar

The most commonly used civil calendar today is known as the Gregorian calendar, which is also called the Western calendar, or the Christian calendar. This calendar was named after Pope Gregory XIII,...
Country Church on Christmas Day

The Story of Silent Night

Walk into any public square or shopping mall at this time of year and an encounter with a traditional Christmas carol is well-nigh unavoidable. We may not sing them ourselves with anything like the...
The Annunciation by Fra Angelico

Virgin Mothers and Miracle Babies: The Ancient History of Miraculous Conceptions

At the centre of the annual Christian festival of Christmas, particularly among those of the Catholic faith, is the sacred narrative of the Virgin Birth. In the New Testament Gospels of Matthew and...
‘Visione di sant' agostino’ (vision of Saint Augustine) (1502) by Vittore Carpaccio.

Saint Augustine of Hippo and His Detours on the Long and Winding Path to Christianity

Saint Augustine of Hippo is one of the most important Christian theologians, and his works have exerted a great influence not only on the development of Western Christianity, but also on Western...
Burning witches and holding others in the Stocks, 14th century.

The Malleus Maleficarum: A Medieval Manual for Witch Hunters

The Salem witch trials, which began in 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts bay colony, are one of the most well-known and notorious witch trials in history. Yet, this was not the only case of these...
Fire Symbolism

Fire Symbolism: Flames that Ignite Faiths and Inspire Minds

Since it was first proposed by the Pre-Socratic philosopher, Empedocles of Acragas, fire has been regarded in the Western world as one of the four classical elements. The status of fire as a...
The death of King Olaf at the hands of Tore Hund, Viking chief

Viking Chief Tore Hund and his successful resistance against Christian conversion

When Christians made their theological push into Europe, suppressing native religions and supplanting them with a foreign God, some pagans resisted by secretly practicing their old religion, while...
Small grave at the Children’s Fort in Tullycrine, Ireland

The Graveyard of the Lost: Why Hundreds of Children were Buried in an Old Irish Ring Fort

Inside the ring fort at Tullycrine in West Clare, Ireland, visitors can see the graves of hundreds of children dating from a period in Irish history when those who had not been baptized were banned...
Close-up of the Liesborn Prayer Wheel

The Liesborn Gospel Book and its Mysterious Prayer Wheel

The Liesborn Prayer Wheel was discovered recently on the blank first page of a copy of the Liesborn Gospel Book. This was an unusual find in an already rare piece of work. This medieval tome is one...
The 18-letter message running down the central groove of a Medieval sword. Credit: The British Museum.

Medieval Sword contains Cryptic Code. British Library appeals for help to crack it.

In 1825, a mysterious double edged sword containing a cryptic code was found in the River Witham near Lincoln in England. The 13th century sword contains an enigmatic 18-letter message running down...
The holy well or sacred spring of the Great Basilica in Pliska

Tomb of Christian Bulgarian prince martyred by his brother excavated in Pliska

The grave of a prince who was to become the khan of Bulgaria but refused to deny Christ and was then martyred for it by his brother in the year 833, has been excavated in Pliska, Bulgaria. St. Boyan...
Wallpainting in a Laotian temple, depicting the Bodhisattva Gautama (Buddha-to-be) undertaking extreme ascetic practices before his enlightenment. A god is overseeing his striving, and providing some spiritual protection. The five monks in the background are his future 'five first disciples'.

Wealth and Religion Tied through Time: Was Ancient Religious Morality Spurred by Affluence?

Religion has become associated with having a focus on morality. But that wasn’t always the case, researchers say. Academics have long suspected that the modern world’s major religions were born of...
Capela do Senhor da Pedra - Chapel of the Lord of Stone

Capela do Senhor da Pedra: The Pagan Origins of the Chapel of the Lord of Stone

In the small seaside village of Miramar, along the spectacular coastline of Portugal, sits a tiny chapel perched on top of a rock known as Capela do Senhor da Pedra (“Chapel of the Lord of the Stone...
Detail, The Conversion of St. Paul. Paul and companions are knocked to the ground during the profound event.

Ancient Signs in the Sky: Did a Meteorite Change the Course of Christianity 2,000 Years Ago?

Did an ancient meteor have such a life-changing impact on witnesses of the day that it shaped a religion and altered the course of history? Astronomers theorize that the dramatic flash and boom that...
The James Ossuary, a first-century limestone box used for containing the bones of the dead is now reportedly connected to the “family tomb of Jesus” in Jerusalem.

Chemical analysis on ancient stone bone box reignites debate over alleged family of Jesus

Nothing seems to stir controversy in the historical, archaeological and theological research fields more than relics associated with Jesus. A weathered limestone box found in the 1970s and said to...
Photo of Viking figures before a great fire. Would flames await Pagans in Hell?

The Tale of Thorstein Shiver: Hell Confirmed for Pagans during Iceland Saga Age

Short and succinct, the tale of Thorstein Shiver is one of the more comedic sagas and can be interpreted in at least two different ways: as religious or cultural propaganda. The saga tells the brief...
The ruins of the gates of Albanian capital Qabala in Azerbaijan

The Early Temples and Monuments of the Alban People in Ancient Azerbaijan

According to the information gleaned from numerous historical sources, the territories of ancient Azerbaijan, known as Caucasian Albania (not to be confused with the modern-day Albania in Europe)...
The indecipherable Rohonc Codex

An ancient text that has baffled researchers for more than 200 years - The indecipherable Rohonc Codex

The discovery of an unidentified text in Hungary has led to more than 200 years of attempts to determine who authored it and to decipher its contents. Many scholars have studied the text, known as...

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