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Excavations of a city wall belonging to the ancient city of Gan which existed near the modern-day city of Puyang in China. It was here that the bone slips were uncovered. Source: China News Service

Bone Slips Excavated in Central China Linked to Ancient Fortune-Telling

During excavations at a 2,500-year-old archaeological site in Puyang, China, a set of 10 polished and painted bone slips or sticks were unearthed, all of which were inscribed with an ancient Chinese...
Temple of Athena Pronaia at Delphi in Greece. Source: Leonid Andronov/Adobe Stock

Ancient Delphi: The Center of the Universe Explained (Video)

Delphi , deemed the Omphalos or Navel of the Earth by the Ancient Greeks, stands as an extraordinary reminder of their spiritual and architectural prowess. Nestled on Mount Parnassus, it thrived...
Carving an oracle bone. Source: YouTube Screenshot / Smithsonian Channel.

This 3000-Year-old ‘Oracle Bone’ Chose a Shang Dynasty Queen (Video)

In the ancient practice of divination , the use of oracle bones played a crucial role, as revealed in a captivating historical artifact dating back over 3,000 years. This fragmentary turtle shell,...
Oedipus the King of Sophoces theatrical costume Athens Greece. Source: Susan Vineyard / Adobe Stock

The Mother of All Myths: Oedipus, The Story of the King of Thebes

The myth of Oedipus contains moral lessons about the dangers of tempting fate. It warns that fate cannot be neither challenged nor escaped. In doing so, the story is full of intrigue and revelation...
Added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2014, Pergamon, Turkey’s ancient northern Hellenistic city (Dimitri / Adobe Stock)

Ancient Tomb of Bird Oracle Priest Found in Turkey’s Pergamon

The ancient city of Pergamon (or Pergamum) in Turkey has yielded several interesting finds recently. The latest in this series of finds is the tomb of the bird oracle priest Markos. Based on the...
The archaeological site of Delphi, Greece. Source: Sergii Figurnyi / Adobe Stock

Delphi, Centre of the World and Home to a Powerful Oracle

Situated in continental Greece on Mount Parnassus, Delphi was considered to be one of the most important cities of ancient Greece. It was believed to be home to the goddess Gaia, or Earth, and later...
Woman practicing molybdomancy for New Year’s Eve. (Source: Gina Sanders / Adobe Stock

Molybdomancy: Divination and the Search for Omens in Molten Lead

Throughout history people have been looking for answers and salvation, seeking the assistance of the gods, the spirits of nature, and looking to them for help. When looking for answers about what lay...
Statue of Dionysus Bacchus.

The Thracian Oracle: Has the Famous Sanctuary of Dionysus Been Found?

The Thracians were an ancient people inhabiting parts of modern day Bulgaria and Greece. The lands of the Thracian tribes were home to several significant ancient cities, important landmarks and...
Why the Amphiareion of Oropos Was A Dream Destination

Why the Amphiareion of Oropos Was A Dream Destination

Because of its rich history, Greece is blessed with many important historic sites. One of the most intriguing is the Amphiareion in Oropos , not far from Athens. This was once a popular sanctuary and...
The high priestess, Oracle of Delphi, Pythia

Pythia: Oracle and High Priestess of Delphi

Perhaps one of the most famous prophecies uttered by a Pythia, Oracle of Delphi, is that of Croesus’ defeat by the Persian Empire. According to Herodotus, Croesus , the king of the Lydians wanted to...
King Leonidas and the Epic Battle of the 300 at Thermopylae

King Leonidas of Sparta and the Epic Battle of the 300 at Thermopylae

Zack Snyder’s 2007 fantasy historical film, 300 , has probably made the Battle of Thermopylae one of the most famous battles of the ancient world. However, the film has more fantasy than history in...
Bird are the messengers of omens. Source: Yuriy Mazur / Adobe Stock

Birds in the Ancient World: Messengers of Omens and Auguries

Translators regularly face the problem that the words and expressions of one language do not always translate exactly into those of another. In fact, a literal translation can sometimes seem...
This is the mouth of the well where modern archaeologists believe ancient Athenians invoked Apollo to tell the future in the water.

Site in Athens revealed as an ancient temple of twin gods Apollo and Artemis

In 2015, an ancient well was uncovered in Kerameikos in central Athens, Greece, with inscriptions calling upon Apollo, the Greek god of prophecy. Archaeologists speculate that Kerameikos seers used...
Photo showing the pages of the 25th oracle

Ancient Coptic text revealed to be divination tool for predicting the future

An ancient Christian oracle book of mysterious origins has been recently translated and found to contain a collection of encouragements, warnings, and cryptic divinations. The 1,500-year-old tome,...
Illustrations to Dante's Divine Comedy: The Inscription over Hell-Gate

Toxicity at Gateway to Hell Explains ‘Miracle’ in Ancient City of Hierapolis

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here,” said William Shakespeare, and now, new scientific findings tells us how the devils got here! And it was through a “gateway to the underworld” located in...
Oracular cavern of Trophonius by Skene James (1838-1845) (Public Domain)

Nourisher of Mind and Mayhem: The Oracle of Trophonius and the Cave of Nightmares

A god of nourishment in ancient Greek myth, Trophonius is a little-known character with a rather great role in ancient mythology. Though his exploits range from innocent to deceitful, Trophonius made...
Priestess of Delphi (1891) by John Collier. (Public Domain) Drawing of the Tholos of Delphi, Greece.

Earthquake Faults May Have Shaken up the Cultural Practices of Ancient Greece

The Ancient Greeks may have built sacred or treasured sites deliberately on land previously affected by earthquake activity, according to a new study by the University of Plymouth. Professor of...
Undeciphered characters carved into an ancient tortoise shell.

China Offers $15,000 for Each Deciphered Character of Mystery Text on Ancient Oracle Bones

The National Museum of Chinese Writing in Anyang is offering a huge reward to anyone able to crack an ancient code found cut into bones and shells dating back more than 3,000 years to the Shang...
A reconstruction of a burial site from prehistoric China. In Yinxu, about 2,500 pits filled with remains of sacrificial victims have been found in addition to other cemeteries were elites and other locals were buried.

Thousands of War Captives Enslaved for Years Before Being Slain as Sacrifice in Prehistoric China

Some archaeologists in China have analyzed the makeup of elements in the bones in a prehistoric cemetery and say the people buried there were probably war captives who were forced into slavery before...
A well-preserved skeleton in one of the 18 tombs that had several types of grave goods in the Ruins of Yin, an area called the Chinese cradle of civilization.

Archaeologists Discover Undisturbed Tombs of Ancient Nomads in the Cradle of Chinese Civilization

Archaeologists in China’s Henan Province have excavated about 90 tombs, 18 of which contained golden earrings and turquoise artifacts, bronze and iron pots, and short swords. The 18 graves, of the...
Warrior Model, and an ominous Dark Sky

Ignoring Omens and Seeking Vengeance: The Greco-Persian ‘War of the Ages’ Was a Disaster for All

The Greco-Persian wars lasted for more than half a century in some respects. Some date the war as being from 499-448 BCE while others date the conflict from 492-448 BCE. Either or, the war itself was...
Magic in Ancient Greece: Necromancy, Curses, Love Spells, and Oracles

Magic in Ancient Greece: Necromancy, Curses, Love Spells, and Oracles

The magical traditions of ancient Greece encompassed spells, curse tablets, drugs, potions, poisons, amulets, and talismans. For many cultures of the past, there was a very fine line between magic,...
Seers, Women of Action: The Sibyls of the Ancient World

Seers, Women of Action: The Sibyls of the Ancient World

Virgil, in his Aeneid , describes Deiphobe, better known as the Sibyl of Cumae, as coming from “a hundred perforations in the rock, a hundred mouths from which the many utterances rush” (43-5, 163)...
Unveiling the Hittite Hasawa – A Forgotten Priestess, Healer, and Oracle

Unveiling the Hittite Hasawa – A Forgotten Priestess, Healer, and Oracle

The term hasawa means ‘ she of birth' , and might have originally been used to refer to midwives. But hasawa is also a name applied to old, wise women. According to the few resources which described...

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