The Virgin Mary’s breast milk has been the subject of veneration for centuries and even today couples battling infertility often imbue it with miraculous powers. This is especially true at the Chapel...
Archaeologists in Mexico’s ancient Maya city of Oxkintok have unearthed a striking headless statue. Measuring approximately 5 feet 5 inches (1.68 meters), the life-size limestone statue was uncovered...
Coatlicue was one of the most important gods in the Aztec pantheon. Not only was she the goddess of fertility, but she also gave birth to Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of war and the sun. Her high...
Tlaltecuhtli was a Mesoamerican earth goddess predominantly worshiped by the Aztec people. In most religions, fertility goddesses are depicted as the culture's epitome of beauty, like Aphrodite of...
Freya is old Norse for “lady” and was the name given to the Norse goddess of love. Whilst she certainly sought out passion and pleasure, she was a complex character. In fact, to the Vikings she was a...
One of the most prominent and oldest Neolithic sites found in what is now Turkey has yielded yet another interesting find – a clay statuette of a female figurine has been unearthed in Izmir, dated to...
The forbidden fruit reference in the Bible and the story of how Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden is well known and used in all kinds of modern contexts. But was the forbidden fruit...
On a lonely peak of the Sierra de Tepoztelan in the state of Morelos in Mexico stands the Aztec temple of El Tepozteco. The temple is dedicated to an unusual deity, Ometochtli - Tepoztecatl, one of...
If you thought the Greek gods had a monopoly on selfishness, rape, deception and other shady derring-do, you were wrong. Take, for instance, the Inca god Coniraya (also Cuniraya), who might have fit...
The Trotula is a very well-known 12 th century text, originally written for male medical practitioners treating gynecological or obstetrical issues, which reveals a great deal about how people...
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities have announced the discovery of a distinctive collection of hundreds of ancient tombs. The 250 rock-cut tombs were found in various levels of a...
Hera, also known by her Latin title as Juno, is best known in Western culture as the wife of Zeus, king of the gods. While technically subordinate to him, Hera is never a submissive figure, in fact...
Archaeologists have identified a 3,200-year-old ceremonial center in Peru’s northern Virú province. The site has been partially destroyed and is still waiting full excavations, but they’ve already...
Nestled in the fertile region around the River Tigris and Euphrates, the historical region of ancient Mesopotamia has long been regarded as one of the earliest cradles of civilization. Home to...
Farmers tilling the soil in a citrus grove in the Huasteca region along Mexico ’s Gulf Coast unearthed something ancient and unusual. Hitting a hard object they assumed was a rock, the farmers dug...
The ancient Egyptians had an undeniable and powerful connection to nature and the world around them. Almost every animal and plant had a specific meaning to their way of life, inspiring grand murals...