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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Celts, Medieval Monks, and Pirates: The Secrets of the Cíes Islands

Paradisiacal islands near the city of Vigo in the Pontevedra district of Galicia, Spain have been the witnesses to many visitors, stories, and mysteries. Although the area is difficult to live in,...
The Cat Came Back: A More Than Mythical History – Part I

The Cat Came Back: A More Than Mythical History – Part I

Cats have been on the human scene for 9,000 years. We came out of the caves, and they were there with us. Ever since, cats have been immortalized in art. They have been painted in fresco, sculpted in...
More than a Goddess of Love: The Many Other Aspects of Aphrodite

More than a Goddess of Love: The Many Other Aspects of Aphrodite

The Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, has a very distinctive image in classical arts. In 458 BCE, the playwright Aeschylus, in his play Agamemnon , used the name of Aphrodite to denote “beauty, charm...
The Magic of Heka: Ancient Egyptian Rituals That Have Crossed Cultures and Time

The Magic of Heka: Ancient Egyptian Rituals That Have Crossed Cultures and Time

Magic has always been a mysterious way to achieve goals and was often thought to make dreams come true. In the case of the ancient Egyptian civilization, it was seen as a way to communicate with the...
Deriv; 5th century BC Achaemenid-era carving of Persian and Median soldiers in traditional costume and eclipse

Kings of the Umman Manda (Media): Warnings and Omens – Part II

Once Cyaxares had finalized the conquest of Urartu, he handed it over to a certain tribe of Scythians who had inhabited the region of Armenia beforehand and thus extended their domain. It is said...
A Drink Fit for Goddesses: Beer and Mankind in Ancient Mythology

A Drink Fit for Goddesses: Beer and Mankind in Ancient Mythology

It is widely known these days that beer is one of the oldest beverages human beings have ever produced. Beer-related items and activities familiar to us today can be traced back to the ancient world...
Detail of the Wenhaston Doom

The Wenhaston Doom: A Surprising Medieval Relic, Doomsday Message—and a Reminder of Pre-Christian Traditions

A ‘Doom’ is a remarkable survival of a type of church decoration once common in the Middle Ages but largely destroyed during the iconoclastic excesses of the English Protestant Reformation during the...
Sarcophagus of Ancient Egyptian Chief Priest Harkhebit IV. The text on the lid comes from the Book of the Dead.

Zep Tepi and the Djed Mystery: The Book of the Dead and Fallen Civilizations—Part II

Chapter XVII of the Egyptian Book of the Dead highlights an indisputable detail: ritual formulas hid proofs of prehistoric events. They were handed down orally, and after millennia they inspired the...
A gold curse tablet dating back to 4th century AD. Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade

Golden Curse Tablets Found in Ancient Serbian Tombs Invoke Gods and Demons

Archaeologists in Serbia have discovered the first known golden curse tablets in ancient Roman tombs in Serbia. The tablets contain inscriptions in long-forgotten languages with strange magical...
Solar deity bronze relief, Deriv.

Those Who Once Reigned: Experts Name Famous and Forgotten Ancient Gods

Ancient Origins asked experts to weigh in on the topic of ancient deities. Some ancient gods get all the attention - but which gods are largely forgotten… and why? The following is their views on...
A depiction of the Norse goddess Sif.

The Story of Sif, Powerful Wife of Norse God Thor

The warrior god Thor is well known from Old Norse literature. He has become a popular cultural icon, but his wife seems to be largely forgotten these days. However, Sif was once recognized as an...
Gods and the creative and destructive power of fire.

Thieves of Fire in Ancient Mythology: Divine Creation and Destruction in the Hands of Man

From ancient times and even to this day, people consider fire one of the basic elements of the universe. Interpretations of fire in ancient mythologies vary greatly, with fire viewed as a creative...
Surprising Hints of Possible Portal to Pan Found Near Ancient City in Israel

Surprising Hints of Possible Portal to Pan Found Near Ancient City in Israel

A team of archaeologists working in Hippos-Sussita, Israel have uncovered what may be a gateway to a worship compound for the Greek God Pan. This possibility is exciting as few built structures or...
Ancient Sacred Sites Triangularly Aligned by the Footsteps of the Gods

Ancient Sacred Sites Triangularly Aligned by the Footsteps of the Gods

Ancient architects not only placed temples sharing commonalities according to perfect triangles, they did so from the sky and across vast distances. The Hindu Trimurti is the eastern equivalent of...
The Immortals – A Continuation of Myths and Legends

The Immortals – A Continuation of Myths and Legends

Uruk from Mesopotamia was probably the first legendary immortal. He was believed to have been a “regular” individual who simply could not die. However, mythology suggests that immortals and observers...
Chaac and Tlaloc

Chaac and Tlaloc: Two Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Gods of the Rain

Chaac (also spelt as Chac) and Tlaloc are two important deities found in the traditional religious beliefs of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. These two deities were regarded as major gods due to the...
The Departure of Väinämöinen.

The Fantastic Adventures of Vainamoinen: Finnish Hero, Wizard, Shaman, and God

Väinämöinen is an important figure in Finnish folklore, and has been variously referred to as a hero, a wizard, a shaman, and a god. More importantly, this benevolent character is the primary...
Paranormal animals of North America.

Hair-Raising Tales of Paranormal Animals that Possess Humans, See Death, and Act as Messengers of the Gods

Throughout time, numerous people have declared that they had witnessed strange and inexplicable occurrences involving the ghosts of the deceased, fantastic creatures, demons, and other similar things...
Neptune Carving

Ring of Skulls: Ancient and Modern Sacrifices to the Water Gods

The macabre discovery of a ring of children’s skulls buried in the earth around lakes in Germany and Switzerland has revealed an age-old tradition of making offerings and sacrifices to the water gods...
Area Sacra di Largo Argentina in Rome

Four Sanctuaries for The Gods: Area Sacra di Largo Argentina in Rome

An ancient secret is buried in front of us—just meters below our current street level. Four years ago Spanish researchers of the Institute of History of the Center for Humanities and Social Sciences...
Giant rock structure in Monte Pindo.

Monte Pindo: A Legendary Celtic Olympus from Ancient Galicia

Monte Pindo is a mountain located on the Atlantic coast near Carnota, Galicia, in Spain. Every year, thousands of people visit this beautiful place looking to immerse themselves in pure nature and,...
Stone ‘mushroom’ formations in Bulgaria.

Mushroom Monuments of Thrace and Ancient Sacred Rites

Throughout northeastern Greece, western Turkey, and Bulgaria, in the region known in antiquity as Macedonia, Anatolia, and Thrace, there are numerous megalithic natural rock formations that resemble...
Detail of the runic inscription found on the 6th- or 7th-century Björketorp Runestone located in Blekinge, Sweden

Discover the Hidden Roots of the Runes

A long time ago, runes were used by the Shamans of Scandinavia and the word “rune” at its origin made reference to mystery. Runes were used as protective symbols and were carved in wood, bone, or...
Deriv; Shui-nu Niang-niang Illustration (Public Domain) and China landscape

Shui-mu Niang-niang: The Old Mother of the Waters Who Submerged an Ancient City

In Chinese folklore, Shui-mu Niang-niang, or the Old Mother of the Waters, is a legendary spirit guardian of the waters surrounding the city of Sizhou (or Ssu-Chou, according to ETC Werner’s...

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