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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Hercules and Iolaus, Fountain mosaic from the Anzio Nymphaeum, Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome. (Public Domain)

No Happy-Ever-After For The Doomed Lovers Of Hero Heracles

Heracles, born of the mortal woman Alcmene by Zeus, King of the Gods, is the greatest of the Greek heroes, yet he was not fated to an everlasting happy love life, until after his death. His...
Hephaestus And Thetis Bound In Their Mortal Suffering

Hephaestus And Thetis Bound In Their Mortal Suffering

Infuriated that her husband Zeus gave birth to Athena on his own, Hera, the Queen of Heaven, impregnated herself to have a child independent of Zeus, and thus she gave birth to Hephaestus. Hephaestus...
Majestic Temple of Hera at Paestum ( Nido Huebl/ Abobe Stock)

Greek Goddesses’ Temples Grace Paestum On The Italian Tyrrhenian Sea

The ancient Greek city of Poseidonia, now Paestum , lies on the Italian coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Paestum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is famed for its well-preserved ruins. In fact, posterity...
A variety of artifacts from the newly found temple at the Paestum Velia archaeological park. Source: Paestum Velia Archaeological Park

Trove of Ancient Artifacts Discovered in Paestum Include Dolphin Statuette of Eros

Archaeological excavations in southern Italy have yielded a treasure trove of Greek artifacts from the ancient city of Paestum. Located on the famed Amalfi coast close to Pompeii , a ‘significant’...
Statue of Hera and Zeus at Panathenaic stadium, Athens. (Sean Wallace-Jones / Adobe Stock)

Ancient Olympia: Site Of The Sacred Hieros Gamos

Long before the Greek Olympic Games became the dominion of a male god, ancient symbolism was embedded in the Hieros Gamos (Sacred Marriage ceremony) practiced at Olympia, a sanctuary in a serene...
Argos Panoptes, the all-seeing giant of Greek mythology. Source: matiasdelcarmine / Adobe Stock

Argos Panoptes – The All-Seeing Giant of Greek Mythology

Argos Panoptes was one of the primordial giants of Greek mythology. His epithet Panoptes means “the one who is all-seeing” and reminds us of the symbol of the all-seeing eye of God. Although Panoptes...
The Lamia demon terrified ancient Greeks. Source: Andrey Kiselev / Adobe Stock

The Lamia of Ancient Greek Mythology: The Original Bogeyman

Ancient Greek mythology is absolutely full of things that go bump in the night. It’s one of the many reasons Greek mythology is still so popular today. How many films, novels, and video games take...
The Greek goddess Eris inspired fear in everyone	Source: Likozor / Adobe Stock

Eris: The Gleeful Greek Goddess of Chaos and Discord

Many of the Greek gods and goddesses enjoyed inflicting in pain, suffering, and destruction, but few took as much joy in it as Eris. Eris was the Greek goddess of chaos, strife, and discord...
The huge mosaic of the Twelve Labors of Heracles discovered at Syedra, Turkey. Source: Turkey Department of Culture

Massive Mosaic Depicting the 12 Labors of Heracles Unearthed in Turkey

Excavations being carried out in the ancient city of Syedra, traced back to 2,900 years ago, continue to shed light on the vibrant history of what is now Turkey. Located in the Alanya district of...
Tiresias, the blind seer of Greek mythology. Source: matiasdelcarmine / Adobe Stock

Tiresias: The Blind Seer of Greek Mythology

Movies, video games, and comic books have made mythological figures like Zeus, Hercules, and Hades household names across the globe. These gods and heroes of ancient Grecian myth have carved out a...
Garden of the Hesperides

Garden of Eden Depicted in Ancient Greek Religious Art

If the early chapters of the Book of Genesis present a true account of human origins, then ancient secular human history must connect in significant ways to that account. In fact, ancient Greek...
Unravelling the Roots of Hera, the Wrathful Goddess of Marriage

Unravelling the Roots of Hera, the Wrathful Goddess of Marriage

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...
The five female Olympians of the Ancient Greek Pantheon. Source: local_doctor / Adobe Stock

Five Female Olympians of Ancient Greece: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Greek Mythology consists of numerous gods and goddesses, although the Greek pantheon itself is comprised of just twelve main gods ruling Mount Olympus. Among the twelve, there are five female rulers...
Fertility goddesses can be found in all cultures and times. Source: zolotareva_elina /Adobe Stock

Praying For Life – Top 10 Ancient Fertility Goddesses

Throughout the ancient history of the world, polytheism - commonly known as paganism or heathenism - was the defining aspect of all societies and civilizations. Our ancestors had complex and...
The Fall of Hera: Demoted from Autonomous Goddess to Wife of Zeus

The Fall of Hera: Demoted from Autonomous Goddess to Wife of Zeus

Constantly battling with Zeus’ infidelity, Hera the ancient Greek goddess of family and marriage, often took swift and cruel revenge - not on her philandering husband, but on his conquests and the...
A seated Zeus reaches out for the hand of Hera on the temple of Hera at Selinus, c. 530 BC. Inset: Adam and Eve, oil and paper, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1517. (Public Domain)

Zeus and Hera – A Match for the First Couple of Genesis?

There is no Creator-God in the Greek religious system. Ancient Greek religion gets away from the God of Genesis and exalts mankind as the measure of all things. You may think to yourself that the...
My Name Is Heracles, And I Have Father Issues

My Name Is Heracles, And I Have Father Issues

The story of Heracles is considered one of the oldest of the Greek myths . Heracles’ popularity stretched from the western world to the far reaches of northern India. His likeness has appeared as...
‘The Birth of the Milky Way’ (1636-1637) by Peter Paul Rubens.

Breastfeeding Beliefs: From Invincibility to Universal Creation

Breastfeeding is an infant feeding practice in which a child is fed breast milk directly from breast to mouth. Breastfeeding could be performed by the mother herself or by a wet nurse. Evidence of...
Ancient Khmer carving of childbirth.

Ancient Childbirth Beliefs and Rituals Thought to Protect Mother and Child

For much of human history, pregnancy and childbirth was an extremely dangerous period in a woman’s life. It was often believed that the expectant mother and her baby were vulnerable to malevolent...
One of the Greek temples in the Valley of Temples outside Agrigento, Sicily

New Study Shows Some Greek Temples Were Oriented to the Moon or Stars, Rather than the Sun

The Ancient Greeks, who designed temples in honor of gods, goddesses and heroes, usually oriented them facing the rising sun or to the cardinal directions. But a new study shows that a few of the...
Ancient Temple and Sanctuary Zeus and Hera - Bulgaria

Ancient Temple and Sanctuary Uncovered in Bulgaria

Archaeologists have found a Thracian temple and a sanctuary of Zeus and Hera in Sredna Gora, a mountain range in central Bulgaria. The Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting a...