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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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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.

Walls of the Middle Age city of Dubrovnik, Croatia - one of the filming sites of Game of Thrones (Wikimedia Commons)

The Real History Behind Game of Thrones (Part one)

Game of Thrones is a series of fantasy books by acclaimed author George R.R. Martin and a highly popular television show on HBO. It is a world unto its own, but like other popular fantasy series,...
Featured Image: Britomart viewing Artegal from  The Faerie Queene, (1895-1897) W. Crane (Wikimedia Commons)

Britomartis: The Original Virgin Huntress

The Minoan mistress of hunting and sea navigation, Britomartis is considered to be one of many goddesses to have been absorbed into classical Greek mythology. Britomartis appears to have played an...
The Kidnapping of Europa Mosaic, the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, Gaziantep, Turkey

Tracing the Origins of Europe, through Goddess Europa, Back to Jeroboam? Pt 2

Read Part 1 In the ancient legend surrounding the goddess Europa, the Greeks were essentially telling the story of how Phoenicians ended up getting scattered, founding and settling, in the various...
The Abduction of Europa by Rembrandt, 1632 (Wikimedia Commons)

Tracing the Origins of Europe, through Goddess Europa, Back to Jeroboam?

The usual derivation of the term Europe recalls the Greek myth of Europa. This origin is no mystery, in fact the Euro, their official coin, depicts the famous virgin seated on her bull-god. A popular...
Cinderella's slipper

The 2,200-year-old Tale of the Chinese Cinderella

Before there was Cinderella, there was Ye Xian. Undeniably one of the most well-read fairy tales made popular by Disney’s 1950s film, Cinderella describes the life of a young woman forced into...
Dog Star, Sirius

Dog Days of Summer: The Rising of the Dog Star, Sirius

Dog Days , the phrase invokes the hottest, most stifling days of summer. The 40 days, beginning July 3 and ending August 11 coincide with the heliacal (at sunrise) rising of the Dog Star, Sirius. For...
The Ride of the Valkyries (1890), William T. Maud

The Powerful Valkyries as Icons of Female Force and Fear

The Valkyries of Norse mythology were women of vast prestige and power. They were one of the few factions of warrior women from ancient lore recognized as having any power over the mortal realm...
Orichalcum ingots found off the coast of Gela in Sicily.

Orichalcum: Legendary Metal of Atlantis, Or Just A Common Ore?

Earlier this year, several world news organizations reported that archaeologists had recently recovered 39 ingots of orichalcum from a 2,600-year-old shipwreck, found ten feet underwater off the...
The Weird Wolds of Yorkshire: Inside the Mysterious Wold Newton Triangle

The Weird Wolds of Yorkshire: Inside the Mysterious Wold Newton Triangle

‘Fold upon fold of the encircling hills, piled rich and golden,’ is how the writer (best known for her posthumous 1936 novel South Riding ) Winifred Holtby, described England’s Yorkshire Wolds...
Cerridwen: Mother, Magician, and Crone from Old Welsh Mythology

Cerridwen: Mother, Magician, and Crone from Old Welsh Mythology

An enchantress from Welsh mythology, Cerridwen is regarded as a woman of incredible power and magic. She pervades Welsh and Irish culture as an emblem of wisdom and rebirth, remaining today as a...
The Defense of the Sampo, by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, shows Louhi in the form of a flying, winged creature. Created in 1895 by unknown artist.

Loviatar: Finnish Goddess of Desolation, Death, and Decay

Known as the blind daughter in Finnish mythology, Loviatar is the goddess of death and disease. Born from the union of Tuoni, the god of death, and his underworld queen Tuonetar, Loviatar is...
Chavin de Huantar ruins in Peru, where one researcher says the mythical home of the ancient Greek Gorgon may have been.

Ancient Greek Legend Seems to Describe a Place in Peru: Early Contact?

By Tara MacIsaac , Epoch Times In the 8th century BC, the Greek poet Hesiod described in his Theogony a place at the end of the Earth where the gorgons dwell, where the god Atlas appears as a giant...
The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse

The Arthurian Tale of Elaine of Astolat, Lady of Shalott

Elaine the Fair, the Lady of Shalott, comes down through Arthurian legend with seemingly only one purpose: to love Lancelot and, in doing so, reveal his undying affection for the queen of Camelot,...
“Zeus and Thetis” Painting by John Duncan, 1811.

Dikteon Cave: The Legendary Birthplace of Zeus

The Dikteon Cave is one of the most important and famous cult places of Minoan Crete. It is located in the high mountains on the island of Crete in Greece and is associated with the birthplace of the...
Siegfried's Death

Song of the Nibelungs: The Epic Germanic Tale of Love, Death, and Revenge – Part 2

Like many ancient poems and epic tales, the 13 th century saga of The Nibelungenlied, or "The Song of the Nibelungs", is based on both myth and history. Written by an unknown author, the tale remains...
The Three Fates by Sodoma

The Three Fates: Destiny’s Deities of Ancient Greece and Rome

The ancient Greeks believed that many aspects of a person’s life were determined by the three mythical women known as Fates. These were three sister goddesses that appeared in Greek and Roman...
Cantre’r Gwaelod – The Mythical Sunken Kingdom of Wales

Cantre'r Gwaelod – The Mythical Sunken Kingdom of Wales

The story of Atlantis is one of the most renowned and enduring tales from ancient Greece. This island, mentioned in the works of the philosopher Plato, was said to have been swallowed up by the sea...
Dracula

Was Dracula Story inspired by Abhartach, the Bloodsucking Chieftain of Ireland?

Tales of vampires and other similar blood-sucking creatures have been told in various societies across the world. The most famous of these tales is the story of Dracula, written by Bram Stoker, and...
Tomoe Gozen - A fearsome Japanese Female Warrior of the 12th Century

Tomoe Gozen - A fearsome Japanese Female Warrior of the 12th Century

In most societies of the past, it was the men who were usually engaged in the bloody business of war. Nevertheless, there are also historical records of women who managed to make a name for...
Guarani beasts

The Gods of Creation and Legendary Beasts of the Guarani

The ancient culture of the Guarani people, who are spread across Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia, is as strong today as it was many centuries ago, sustained through an oral tradition of...
Lake Parime: The Legendary Lake of El Dorado

Lake Parime: The Legendary Lake of El Dorado

Gold has long been regarded as a precious object, and has been equated with kingship and authority. As gold was rare, and sometimes not locally available, people often travelled over great distances...
Cerro Rico de Potosí as depicted in 1715, a possible origin of the Sierra de la Plata myth.

Sierra de la Plata: The Inca Legend of the Silver Mountain

It was gold and silver that drove the Spanish on in their exploration and conquest of the Americas. By the 1530s, less than 50 years after Christopher Columbus had reached the New World, the Spanish...
The Thirteen Legendary Treasures of Britain

The Thirteen Legendary Treasures of Britain

The ancient Greek writer Hesiod once wrote that there were five ages of mankind – the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, the Heroic Age, and the Iron Age. Similarly, in Hinduism, there are...
The Defense of the Sampo, magical artifact of Finnish folklore.

The Magical Sampo: Object of Power and Riches in Finnish Folklore

The Kalevala, a poem based on Finnish folklore and mythology, is regarded as the national epic of Finland. As such, the 28 of February has been set aside in Finland as a day to commemorate this piece...

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