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Myths & Legends

All over the world there are extraordinary stories—stories that once upon a time were believed to be true but are today limited to the sphere of ancient myths and legends. The question remains, are those myths and legends something that existed in the minds of our ancestors, or were they based on true events? It is true that most of those ancient myths and legends appear to the scientific world to be fictitious products of vivid imaginations whose goals were purely to explain phenomena beyond their comprehension. Yet is it not arrogant to accuse our ancestors of being uncivilised and ignorant in one breath, then offer them praise and admiration over their monuments, buildings, art, sculptures, and societies in the next? This only proves that our modern society has two contradictory attitudes toward our past.

In this section we will explore some of the most amazing myths and legends from around the world—legends that may hold truths that can unlock the secrets of our ancient origins.

Twelve Tribes

Twelve Tribes

Several weeks back, I chatted with a CEO friend, and as I happened to be organizing a trip to see the ancient Armageddon site in Israel, naturally enough, that gave me the idea to write this piece…...
A canopic coffinette of king Tutankhamun of the 18th dynasty of Egypt from the 14th century BC

From Curse to Cure: Tutankhamun’s Tomb Fungus Shows Promise Against Cancer

Justin Stebbing /The Conversation In November 1922, archaeologist Howard Carter peered through a small hole into the sealed tomb of King Tutankhamun. When asked if he could see anything, he replied...
Queen Meritaten (Scotia)

Queen Meritaten (Scotia), Was her Voyage to Ireland Possible?

The character know to mythology as Queen Scotia, or in her own country, Queen Meritaten, is perhaps most famously linked to her half-brother Pharaoh Tutankhamun, who is probably the most famous...
Painting by Emil Johann Lauffer (19th century). Merlin presenting the future king Arthur (while wearing a headdress that feature’s a shaman’s horns).

The Enduring Legacy of Merlin: Shaman, Warrior, Wild Man, Magician, Prophet

Imagine the scene. Merlin, however you see him—as a grey-bearded but ageless man, or youth with more knowledge in his eyes that he should have—sits in a room somewhere in Wales. He is speaking to a...
Illustration of the birth of Athena from Zeus’ head, 570-560 BC, decorating a pyxis (ancient Greek jewelry box).

The Birth of Athena: Gods and Natural Disasters in Ancient Greece (Part I)

The ancient city of Iconium is now known as Konya. It is located in central Turkey. The city lies at an elevation of about 1,027 meters (3,370 feet) on the southwest edge of the central Anatolian...
Participants in the 1986 Memorial Day event Hands Across America, designed to raise money to fight hunger in the United States, lined up along and near the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.

American Myth: A People's Dreams of the Past, Present and Future (Part III)

There has been a perpetual stream of myth-inspired art throughout human history, stretching all the way back to cave paintings. Because of the power of the large screen and because of their fertile...
Jan Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens (1615): ‘The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man,’ in Mauritshuis, The Hague.

Is the Garden of Eden Hidden Beneath Egypt's Great Pyramid?

The story of the Garden of Eden has fascinated people for millennia, with countless scholars and amateur enthusiasts trying to pinpoint its true location. It has traditionally been thought to lie in...
 Lower Manhattan as seen from Governor’s Island.

American Myth and the American Dream (Part II)

From ancient times to the present, humans have longed for bliss: their ideals, dreams, utopias, Golden Ages, Eden, the Holy Land, Plato’s Republic, Shangri-La, Valhalla, Camelot, the American Dream,...
 Painting of the Birth of Aphrodite on a ceramic vessel, 460 BC, from Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Birth of Aphrodite, Part II: An Ancient Catastrophe in the Skies

Extant documents provide no date for the birth of Aphrodite, but to the Greeks she was considered to be the oldest of the 12 Olympian gods older even than Zeus. For them she was considered to be the...
Vampires and werewolves, the creatures of our nightmares.

Vampires, Werewolves & The Undead: The Ancient Origins of Horror Creatures

Vampires sinking fangs into pale necks, werewolves howling under a full moon, zombies clawing their way from graves—these creatures haunt our nightmares and flicker across screens, modern icons of...
The Norse god Thor battles the Midgard serpent at the end of time, as foretold in Norse mythology (illustration by Emil Doepler from around 1905).

Artifacts Reveal Complex Spiritual Relationship Between Vikings and Animals

Humans and animals have lived together or side by side throughout the ages. Modern human society is largely organized on the principle that people are separate from animals and have a unique...
Mithras sacrificing a bull.

How Mithraism Influenced Christianity

Mithras is an important Persian god of light who became well-known around 600 BC. Roman soldiers called him "the god who can never be defeated or destroyed." His role in ancient beliefs was...
 Illustration of the landscape of the great lost city of Atlantis

Many Ancient Civilizations Destroyed by Catastrophes, Says Maverick Researcher

Randall Carlson is a geological researcher and renegade scholar with extensive knowledge of ancient mythology, sacred geometry, and the Earth’s history of catastrophes. For over four decades he has...
Birth of Aphrodite. Altar of Aphrodite, so-called Ludovisi Throne. Marble. First third of the 5th century B.C. Rome, Roman National Museum, Palazzo Altemps.

The Birth of Aphrodite, Part I: Born from the Fragments of a Comet

Nobody seems to have noticed the significance of the locations in St Paul’s missionary journey other than to note that there were Jewish communities in those locations. Paul was evidently on a...
Isis wall painting in the tomb of Seti I (KV17), 14th century painting by Ägyptischer Maler.

The Evolution of Isis: Becoming the One and Only

Humble beginnings may not sound like the Egyptian goddess Isis, but this much is true. When she first emerged into the world, she was hardly known by her people, with the exception of elites. Her...
Tablet sculptured with a scene representing the worship of the Mesopotamia Sun-god in the Temple of Sippar.

Who Were the Anunnaki, Really? A Special Investigation

The modern era has witnessed an incredible surge in the popularity of all forms of media concerning the mythology of the ancient Mesopotamians. Fueling this ever-growing trend are the writings of a...
The grave of the man given the “vampire” burial in  Račeša, Croatia.

Rest in Pieces: Bones of 15th Century “Vampire” Unearthed in Croatia

Archaeologists excavating a burial site in Croatia have uncovered intriguing evidence of strange historical burial customs that seem to reflect a belief in the supernatural. The remains of the...
From a stage play of ‘Nosferatu.’

Famed Filmmaker Resurrects Dead Romanian Language in Hit Movie ‘Nosferatu’

Robert Eggers has become perhaps the most acclaimed horror film director in the movie industry, in part because of his insistence on authenticity. Eggers’ well-known and popular films, including The...
Image of transparent crystal ball.

The Fascinating and Colorful History of Soothsaying

The Oxford English dictionary defines soothsaying as ‘t he art of being able to foresee the future.’ A sooth tells the truth, and by deduction, a soothsayer is someone who tells the truth about a...
This image of the Qallupilluit was generated using OpenAI's DALL·E.

10 Weird and Unsettling Creatures from Ancient Folklore

Folklore around the world is filled with strange creatures, each reflecting the cultural fears, beliefs, and imaginations of the societies that created them. These beings often served as cautionary...
Tarpeia meeting with the Sabines and promising to open the gates for them, in her infamous betrayal of Rome.

Tarpeia and Hersilia: The Two Faces of Loyalty in Early Rome

Tarpeia and Hersilia, two women featured in the early tales of Rome, had diametrically opposed stories and very different life outcomes. In ancient Roman folklore, Tarpeia has become a symbol of...
Krampus is a Christmas Devil. Source: Sergio Delle Vedove / Adobe Stock

Krampus: The Terrifying Christmas Devil Who Punished Naughty Children

In European folklore, Krampus is the antithesis of Santa Claus . The equivalent of a Christmas Devil, Krampus is a horrific beast that hunted down misbehaving children and whipped or terrified them...
Mystic Crystal Ball in a Candlelit Room

Decoding Ancient Prophecies: Did They Predict Our Modern World?

Since the dawn of civilization, humans have been intrigued by the future. It was something mysterious, something enigmatic, something that promised a lot of wonders and great achievements. And it is...
"Now he's left to pine on an island, wracked with grief" (Odyssey V): Calypso and Odysseus, by Arnold Böcklin, 1883. Inset; The Return (2024) poster

Homer’s Odyssey Meets Cinema Magic: Ralph Fiennes & Juliet Binoche in The Return!

A conversation with Dr. Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Senior Research Fellow, Clare College, Emeritus A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture As audiences prepare for the release of The Return , a...

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