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The Protector of Kea Island: The Lion of Kea

The Protector of Kea Island: The Lion of Kea

The Greek island of Kea has been a popular location since ancient times, given that it is the closest Cycladic Island to Athens . One of the most famous monuments of the island is the Lion of Kea, an...
Minotaur

Myth of the Minotaur: The Making of a Monster

One of the most intriguing myths of ancient Greece is that of the Minotaur on the island of Crete, the bull-headed human-animal hybrid of Greek mythology. The story of the bestial Minotaur trapped in...
Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime Stories and Creation Myths

Aboriginal Dreamtime Stories and the Creation Myths of Australia

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...
Is the mythology surrounding the Tower of Babel somehow connected to that of the Great Pyramid of Cholula in Mexico?

Parallel Twin Ziggurats: The Tower of Babel and Pyramid of Cholula

From the oasis sands of the biblical cradle of Mesopotamia all the way to the volcanic Valley of Mexico, parallel pyramids and mirroring myths have endured across the ages. Isolated from each other...
Mystery of Genghis Khan’s Death Considered Solved

Mystery of Genghis Khan’s Death Considered Solved

A team of scientists have cleared up the myths surrounding the death of the great Genghis Khan . They claim that his passing might hold a message for today’s leaders amidst the threats of the current...
The Shining History of Gold: From Ancient Treasure to Modern Tech

The Shining History of Gold: From Ancient Treasure to Modern Tech

Gold is arguably the human race’s most valued commodity and a lot could be written about the history of this metal. The luster, beauty, resistance to tarnishing, malleability, and overall brilliance...
Amaterasu, a major goddess of Japan.

Solar Goddess Amaterasu, Divine Ancestor of the Japanese Imperial Family

Amaterasu is a major goddess in the Shinto religion. Although she is considered primarily a sun goddess, she is also believed to be the ruler of the Takama no Hara (the High Celestial Plain), which...
The Jade Emperor: Taoist Ruler of Heaven - and Celestial Bureaucrat

The Jade Emperor: Taoist Ruler of Heaven - and Celestial Bureaucrat

The Jade Emperor is not only a notable figure in Chinese mythology, but also one of the most important deities in Taoism and in Chinese folk religion. Today, the Jade Emperor is regarded as the...
Sisyphus

The Sisyphus Myth: Cruel King Gets Eternal Punishment for Annoying Zeus

Doomed to forever roll a huge boulder up a steep hill, Sisyphus is a figure in Greek mythology who represents an impossible task. As his punishment in the Greek Underworld , each time Sisyphus neared...
The Planet Venus as a Symbol of Death and Resurrection in Ancient Mesoamerica

The Planet Venus as a Symbol of Death and Resurrection in Ancient Mesoamerica

Do our myths come from the stars or do we project our myths onto the stars? The story of Mithras truly does come from astronomical discoveries in the ancient world. It was noticed that every 2,160...
A menacing, shaggy black dog with red, glowing eyes

Not Always A Man’s Best Friend: Terrifying Black Dogs of British Legends

Primarily associated with British legends, stories about black dogs, ghost dogs, or hellhounds are present in almost every region of the world. Perhaps the first things to come to your mind when...
Why You Should Not Look into Crazywell Pool on Midsummer’s Eve

Why You Should Not Look into Crazywell Pool on Midsummer’s Eve

Crazywell Pool is a large pond located in the Dartmoor National Park, in Devon , England. This pond is famous due to the many local legends that surround it. The best-known of these is perhaps the...
Hoax of the Century? The Truth About Pierre Plantard’s Priory of Sion

Hoax of the Century? The Truth About Pierre Plantard’s Priory of Sion

Emerging in the Middle Ages in monarchic circles, chivalric orders gradually morphed into fraternities and social circles, predominantly in Christian societies. These knightly orders were a privilege...
Whipping boys were used by aristocrats and royalty.  Source: Left; King James I of England and VI of Scotland, Public domain Right;  "Edward and Whipping Boy" illustration by Walter S. Stacey, Public domain

Fact or Fiction? The Unjust Reality of a Whipping Boy

The history of the world’s nobility is filled with extravagance, wealth, and, more than often, with arrogance. In all corners of the globe, aristocrats and nobles, kings and young princes, were all...
Did Romulus, the legendary first king of Rome, (neurobite /Adobe Stock) really exist? (samott /Adobe Stock)

The Romulus Riddle: Did the Legendary First King of Rome Really Exist?

Recent excavations in Rome have re-ignited the debate over whether the legendary first king of Rome, Romulus, was a historical character or just a fanciful work of fiction. In fact, earlier this year...
Wayland the Smith: The Lost Germanic Legend of the Flying Blacksmith

Wayland the Smith: The Lost Germanic Legend of the Flying Blacksmith

The world of ancient Europe is full of unique myths, legends, heroes, and gods, many of which have survived through time to the present day. In many ways, these legends shaped the identities of...
Golden Age By Juan Carlos Barquet

Long Lost Golden Age - Just a Myth?

The myth and folklore of ancient cultures speak of a vast cycle of time with alternating dark and golden ages; Plato called it the Great Year. Most of us were taught that this cycle was just a myth...
Volterra: Home to Three Civilizations and the World’s First Witch

Volterra: Home to Three Civilizations and the World’s First Witch

Volterra, an archaeological gem in the province of Pisa, in Italy, is often eclipsed by more famous historical sites. This beautiful village, however, dates to the Etruscan period and also contains...
Could the origin of the Basajaun myth reside in an encounter between the primitive and Mesolithic populations of the ancient Basque Country, and the migrating Neolithic settlers? Source: Gorodenkoff / Adobe Stock

The Myth of the Basajaun: A Basque Story of an Ancient Encounter

The genetic background of modern day Europe can often be a complicated topic to talk about. History often brings the migrations of faraway peoples, which is how the Indo-Europeans merged with the...
Photograph of a face-down burial, also known as a prone burial, in a churchyard in Berlin, just one of almost a hundred medieval and post-medieval burials in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria included in the study. Source: (Claudia Maria Melisch / Landesdenkmalamt Berlin)

Buried Face-Down 400-Years-Ago, But Through A Fear Of Zombies, Or God?

In 2014 a construction project required Swiss anthropologist Amelie Alterauge of the University of Bern Institute of Forensic Medicine to investigate a very unusual burial in a 400-year-old cemetery...
Jinn by an ancient city

Jinn: Tales of Wish Masters Throughout Time

In translation, the term jinn can be interpreted as ‘hidden from sight’ or ‘the hidden ones.’ In Arabic, the word jinn defines a collective number and it derives from the root jnn or gnn, which means...
Quetzalcoatl, detail. Source: Manzanedo/Deviant Art

The Real Story of the ‘Bearded God’ Named Quetzalcoatl

Many myths have cropped up in the centuries since Columbus landed upon the shores of Hispaniola. While some of these myths have come to be seen for what they are, many more persist in the zeitgeist...
Beowulf against the dragon.

Finding Beowulf: Is Some of the Famous Anglo-Saxon Heroic Epic Based on Truth?

Beowulf is possibly the most famous example of Anglo-Saxon literature. The heroic epic was created between the 8th-11th century and is set in Scandinavia. In the tale, Beowulf helps the king of the...
Thor's hammer amulet

How a Viking Amulet Solved the Mystery of Thor's Hammer

In 2014, archaeologists solved a long-running mystery through the discovery of a 10th century Viking artifact resembling Thor’s Hammer. Before then, they were only working with a hunch about the 1,...

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