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History

From the powerful civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley, to the fearsome yet sophisticated society of the Vikings, the ancient world was a surprising and challenging place. Here we feature some of the most seminal and influential events and people throughout history, that have helped shape the world we know today.

The August 7, 2018 Ibn Sina Google Doodle.
7 August, 2018 - 20:20 Alicia McDermott

Who Was Ibn Sina and Why is He a Google Doodle?

A surprising Google Doodle has greeted users of the search engine in the UK. The image celebrates the 1038th birthday of Persian polymath Ibn Sina. For many in the West, this may be the first...
Medieval Knights are viewed as moral do-gooders.
7 August, 2018 - 01:55 ancient-origins

Medieval Chivalry Wasn’t Just Knights and Valor

By Kathleen McGarvey / University of Rochester Our popular ideas of the chivalric world are off base, according to historian Richard Kaeuper. The gallant knights on horseback and banners unfurling...
‘Yorinda and Yoringel’ by John Duncan (1909)
6 August, 2018 - 16:26 nrushton

Once Upon A Time: Concepts of Afterlife and Altered Consciousness Concealed in Faerie Folklore

Once upon a Time, they all lived happily ever-after. In the 1891 publication The Science of Fairy Tales , the folklorist Edwin Sidney Hartland devoted three chapters to ponder over ‘The Supernatural...
"Israel in Egypt" by Edward Poynter, 1867
5 August, 2018 - 19:04 Rabbi Allen Maller

Pharaoh Ramses’ Anti-Israelite Policy Now Explained

Why were the Jews enslaved in Egypt? New evidence from a French Egyptologist, Alain Zivie, now points to an Egyptian suspect: Pharaoh’s vizier ‘Abdiel, whose Semitic name means ‘a servant of [the god...
‘Sappho and Alcaeus’ (1881) by Lawrence Alma-Tadema.
4 August, 2018 - 22:30 Van Bryan

Sappho: Putting Together Fragments to Gain an Image of the Tenth Muse

By Van Bryan/ Classical Wisdom Besides being born on the island of Lesbos around 630 BC, and this date is often disputed, surprisingly little is known about the life of the beloved poet Sappho. The...
Ancient Hebrew Swords.
3 August, 2018 - 15:23 Cam Rea

The Pros and Cons of the Armory of the Ancient Israelites

While the Israelites saw Yahweh in the spiritual sense as their divinely armed warrior leading the way, in the physical realm, they were anything but divinely armed. At Sinai, Moses instituted a...
From the royal tombs of Ur, the Standard of Ur mosaic, made of lapis lazuli and shell, shows peacetime.
3 August, 2018 - 13:57 dhwty

A Functional and Fertile Crescent: Technological Advancements in the Cradle of Civilization

The Fertile Crescent is the name given to the arc-shaped area of land that stretched across the Middle East from the northern end of the Gulf in the East to the Nile Valley in the West. It was here...
Youth playing the aulos, detail of a banquet scene. Tondo of an Attic red-figure cup, ca. 460 BC–450 BC.
2 August, 2018 - 01:59 ancient-origins

So Now We Know What Ancient Greek Music Sounded Like

Armand D'Angour / The Conversation In 1932, the musicologist Wilfrid Perrett reported to an audience at the Royal Musical Association in London the words of an unnamed professor of Greek with musical...
Ten Powerful and Fearsome Women of the Ancient World
1 August, 2018 - 23:04 Joanna Gillan

Ten Powerful and Fearsome Women of the Ancient World

A quick perusal of the Forbes ‘World’s Most Powerful Women’ list for 2017, will reveal female politicians, heads of industry and billionaire philanthopists at the top of the list. The likes of Angela...
Los Angeles Public Library, courtesy, California Historical Society, CHS2015.1897
1 August, 2018 - 17:25 ashley cowie

Does the Ancient Symbolism of the Los Angeles Public Library Hide a Luciferian Undertone?

To most people the Los Angeles Public Library is a functional city building providing books and reference material to the public. Online, however, the library has come under attack by a growing army...
Aztec Calendar Sun Stone, used by the Aztecs as well as other Pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico and Central America
1 August, 2018 - 01:56 Caleb Strom

Nahuatl, The Language of the Aztec Nation

Today, Spanish is the dominant language of Mexico and most central and South American countries. There was a time, however, when Nahuatl, a language spoken by the indigenous inhabitants of the Valley...
Standing hippopotamus figurine. From Egypt, Middle Egypt, Meir, Tomb B3 of the nomarch Senbi II, pit 1 (steward Senbi), Khashaba excavations, 1910. (CC0) Background: Members of Hatshepsut's trading expedition to the mysterious 'Land of Punt' from this pharaoh's elegant mortuary temple at Deir El-Bahri. In this scene, Egyptian soldiers bear tree branches and axes. (Σταύρος/CC BY 2.0)
31 July, 2018 - 18:52 Carly Silver

How Hungry, Hungry Hippos Started a War in Ancient Egypt

In the 17th century BC, a group of Semitic origin took advantage of political divisions to seize power in Egypt. These Levantine lords were called the “Hyksos” and were longtime residents of ancient...
Daniel del Valle, Moctezuma II Museo Nacional De Arte
31 July, 2018 - 13:54 dhwty

Moctezuma II, The Emperor who Lost an Empire

Moctezuma II was the 9 th ruler of the Aztec Empire, whose unfortunate reign coincided with the arrival of the Spanish under the conquistador Hernan Cortez (Hernán Cortés). Moctezuma is remembered...
Constellation Ursa Major
30 July, 2018 - 15:17 jim willis

Arth Vawr and the Pendragon: Astronomical Link Between the Great Bear and Draco Constellations and the Arthurian Legend?

From Mystery Hill and the spot dubbed Calendar Hill in New England to the venerable Stonehenge, from Incan Pyramids to the Australian outback, from the windswept northern Islands of Great Britain to...
Tragic Comic Masks Hadrian's Villa mosaic
29 July, 2018 - 14:02 Ben Potter

Ancient Greek Theater: Is it a Man’s World?

By Ben Potter / Classical Wisdom The two major Athenian theatrical festivals, The Lenaia and The City Dionysia were held in honor of the god Dionysus . Calling them theatrical, whilst not misleading...
Tomb of the Red Queen.
29 July, 2018 - 11:16 Natalia Klimczak

Unravelling the Mysteries of the Tomb of the Red Queen of Palenque

A remarkable tomb dating back to 600 or 700 AD was discovered by Mexican archaeologist Arnoldo Gonzalez Cruz in 1994. When the researchers opened the burial chamber they couldn't believe their eyes…...
Ancient human remains.
28 July, 2018 - 22:59 ancient-origins

Nine Weird and Wonderful Facts about Death and Funeral Practices

It might not be something you want to think about very often, but it turns out that the way we treat our dead in the modern age is heavily influenced by the way our ancestors treated theirs. When you...
28 July, 2018 - 01:52 dhwty

80 Days of Cuitlahuac: The Unforgettable Impact of a Late Aztec Emperor

Cuitlahuac only ruled the Aztec Empire for 80 days. However, this huey tlatoani played an important role in the Aztec Empire. Today, he is best remembered for leading the Aztec resistance against the...
A small statue of goddess Nephthys guards the golden canopic shrine of Tutankhamun; and detail from the north wall of KV62.
27 July, 2018 - 17:10 anand balaji

When the Falcon Had Flown: Evidence of Approximate Order in Burial Paraphernalia – Part II

A great deal of ritualistic activity was involved in the burial of royals in the ‘Valley of the Kings’. This apart, stocking their tombs with everything that they would need in the Afterlife was...
Pitcairn Island Map
27 July, 2018 - 00:05 Joanna Gillan

Real-Life Lord of the Flies: The Strange and Violent History of Pitcairn Island

Pitcairn Island is a place so remote, and with a history so bizarre, that until recently it was viewed almost as myth rather than reality. But the events that took place on this tiny island in the...
Herodotus and Thucydides
26 July, 2018 - 19:00 Ben Potter

Thucydides Versus Herodotus: Who Was the Real Father of History?

By Ben Potter / Classical Wisdom There has been a great deal of focus on the differences between Herodotus and Thucydides. Both men have been granted the 'father of history' accolade, but...
‘Half-Length Portrait of a Roman Woman’ (1862/1866) by Anselm Feuerbach. (Public Domain) Background: Sepulchral inscription of Allia Potestas (1st–4th century AT), found on a marble tablet in Via Pinciana, Rome, Italy in 1912.
25 July, 2018 - 23:05 ancient-origins

The Eye-opening Epitaph of Allia Potestas and her Perugian Ménage à Trois

The epitaph of Allia Potestas gives an intriguing insight into the sexual mores of the ancient Romans. The tombstone of this ex-slave from the town of Perugia contains fascinating details about her...
This collage shows the Valley of the Kings, statuettes of funerary deities and the Antechamber of the tomb of Tutankhamun.
25 July, 2018 - 15:36 anand balaji

When the Falcon Had Flown: Understanding the Process of Stocking Pharaonic Tombs – Part I

Given their overwhelming belief in the Afterlife, did ancient Egyptian royalty organize their tombs in advance of their eventual demise; or were preparations made post mortem? Although we do not...
Representative image of a Viking King
23 July, 2018 - 18:49 ancient-origins

Defeat Was Not an Option: Viking King Herlaug and His Men Choose to be Buried Alive Instead

BY THORNEWS The year is 871 AD, and King Herlaug of the Namdalen district in Central Norway fulfills his last wish: instead of surrendering to King Harald Fairhair, he and eleven of his men choose to...

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