Ancient Origins articles related to History. In the sections we bring you all the powerful civilizations; from Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Indus Valley, to the fearsome yet sophisticated society of the Vikings and beyond.
Throughout the long ages of our collective history, gods and goddesses have been revered, worshiped, and feared . Ancient mythologies from around the world are rife with deities who instilled awe and...
The world's first known flood myth can be traced back to the Sumerians around 2000 BC. Sumerian tablets recount captivating tales of human beginnings, the creation of mankind, and the profound...
Sumer , or the ‘land of civilized kings’, flourished in Mesopotamia , now modern-day Iraq, around 4500 BC. Sumerians created an advanced civilization with its own system of elaborate language and...
The long-lost continent of Mu, also known as Lemuria , is a mythical land believed to have existed in the Pacific Ocean. According to various esoteric and mythological theories, Mu was said to be an...
Giants, demigods, dwarves and elves - all these creatures made the Old Norse mythology so colorful and captivating. Preserved for posterity in the Norse sagas and manuscripts, these myths and legends...
Beltane is an ancient Gaelic festival celebrating the beginning of summer and the renewal of life. The pagan traditions associated with it have survived through the centuries, with many still...
The Olympian gods are well known to most people in the Western world. A lesser-known deity is Theia. Theia is the primordial Greek goddess of light. She was considered one of the Titans. She is said...
A long time before the Inka reigned, there were in those parts men in the manner of giants, as grown as they showed the figures that were sculpted in the stones. Pedro de Cieza de León Crónica de...
The Norse people were the ancient tribal communities of Scandinavia, who in the modern day are often referred to or thought of as the Vikings (who were actually a subset of them). Like many other...
I’ve had an affinity for the Maya civilization for almost 30 years, and between working with native elders, vacations, and leading tour group visits to Mexico, I can vouch for the mystical nature of...
A bard travels through the streets, gathering an audience as he goes, and then starts to recall the adventures of heroes and the tales of the gods. In the ancient world, word of mouth was one of the...
The faeries appear in folklore from all over the world as metaphysical beings, who, given the right conditions, are able to interact with the physical world. They’re known by many names but there is...
One of the most intriguing and perplexing legends of the Australian Aboriginal people is that of the Wandjinas, the supreme spirit beings and creators of the land and people. The land of the Wandjina...
Humans have always styled their hair in a multitude of creative and symbolic ways, and the various cuts, colors, and presentations reflected across the ages are nearly unlimited. But does hair serve...
Did giants ever really exist in the British Isles? Can legends of giants building Stonehenge really be true? Why does the establishment deny that giants of Great Britain ever existed? Here is a...
When ancient Egypt and Ireland are spoken about in the same breath it usually results in the rolling of eyes, polite exits and the sound of murmurs citing pseudo-history and new age babble. At least...
Mount Shasta is not the tallest or most beautiful mountain in the Cascade Range; but it is the most legendary. In terms of weirdness and strangeness, the unusual stories surrounding the mountain will...
From the lush oases of Africa’s Ethiopia, across the planet to the sweltering jungles of Mexico, beyond the horizon to the primordial coasts of Hawaii, and back again to the gardens, olive groves,...
The Maori people (Māori) are the natives of New Zealand who, like other societies, have myths that are related to the creation of the world and mankind. These Maori creation stories were memorized...
The Aborigines of Australia are considered one of the oldest continuously surviving cultures in the world, encompassing hundreds of diverse cultural groups, each with their own creation stories...
The Māori, or the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand , use a special word Matariki , which identifies the cluster of stars known to astronomers as the Pleiades, and to mythologists and...
There is no doubt that most of us, in our childhoods and later in life, heard all about the stories and legends of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. For many, the stories of Arthur and...
The existence of mystery schools in the Viking Age (800-1200 CE) is deduced from myth and folklore. The poems of the Edda display the structure and content of cultic texts used within the framework...
Every culture has an explanation about how we got here. The ancient Greeks were no different. The dramatic story of the origins of humanity in Greek mythology involves love, pain, and a hefty dose of...