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Baldr’s death by Odin is sitting in the middle of the Æsir by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckerberg. Yggdrasil and the three Norns can be seen in the background. (1817) Charlottenborg Palace (Public Domain)

Seidr Norse Magic And Noaidi Shamans Shaping Destinies

Controlling outcomes, steering destiny and reversing fate in ancient times was all about spells and old-school hands-on magic. Practitioners in ancient Greek and Rome commonly used ‘binding spells’...
Corpus Hermeticum: first Latin edition, by Marsilio Ficino, 1471, at the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, Amsterdam. (Public Domain)

Aion: The Demiurge and the Destiny of Man in the Teachings of Hermes Trismegistus

The Hermetica are a collection of ancient texts composed in Egypt between roughly 200 BC and 400 AD, attributed to the legendary sage Hermes Trismegistus and his followers. As is well known to...
Ancient Legacy And Future Applications Of Glass

Ancient Legacy And Future Applications Of Glass

Today, glass is a mundane material mostly used in construction but in history it was among the treasures of kings and their royal dynasties. The history of glass-making dates back to at least 3,600...
Zhang Qian leaving emperor Han Wudi around 130 BC, for his expedition to Central Asia. Mural in Mogao Caves, high Tang Dynasty (Public Domain)

A Tale of Silk and Faraway Lands: Did the Romans Meet the Chinese?

Although located on opposite ends of the globe, ancient Rome and China were remarkably similar in their stature, as both commanded respect from the weaker kingdoms enveloped in their spheres of...
Excavating Azekah: Defensive Bastion Of The Kingdom Of Judeah

Excavating Azekah: Defensive Bastion Of The Kingdom Of Judeah

Describing the fortress of Azekah 2,700 years ago the mighty Assyrian King Sennacherib wrote that “its walls were strong and rivalled the highest mountains…by means of beaten earth ramos, battering...
Scenic view of typical narrow alleyway lined laundry lines in the Medieval Centro Storico of Naples ( lazyllama/ Adobe Stock) and Munaciello according to popular imagery ( Lady of a times /CC BY-SA 4.0)

Mischievous Munaciello, A Folletto Character Of Neapolitan Folklore

Every country in the world has its own rich folklore , every city and village has its own legends about fantastic creatures and supernatural beings told by grandparents to parents to children,...
17th-century icon of the Translation of the Relics of Saint. Nicholas of Myra. Historic Museum in Sanok, Poland. (Public Domain)

Furta Sacra: Medieval Trafficking In Saintly Relics

It is hard to imagine that the gruesome topic of bodysnatching and the ghastly, gory and gorgeous world of relics would be a main focus of religious veneration throughout the Middle Ages. Through...
Urfa Castle, Şanlıurfa, Turkey (Bernard Gagnon/  CC BY-SA 3.0)

From Urfa To Edessa To Şanlıurfa: Spanning 10,000 Years Of History

During the Hellenistic Period from 312 BC to 63 BC, the Seleucid Empire was a major superpower and at its apex encompassed Anatolia, Persia, the Levant, (now modern Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan...
Pieter Bruegel's The Tower of Babel depicts a traditional Nimrod inspecting stonemasons. (1563) (Public Domain)

Babelse Verwarring: The Confusion Around The Tower Of Babel Finally Solved

The Tower of Babel is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. Many proposals as to the historical or literary origins of this narrative have been made over the years. A remarkably good case...
Wang Zhaojun - O Shokun by Hishida Shunso (1902) (Public Domain)

The Currency Of Chinese Princesses In Conjugal Peace Alliances

For thousands of years, the institution of marriage has been in a constant state of evolution. The established form of marriage recognized in each country, religious or social group at any given time...
The lion gate of The Hattusa (nejdetduzen /Adobe Stock)

The Royal Bloodline Of The Hittite Empire

Tainted by regicide, usurped, regained, inspired by gods and goddesses and even cursed, the royal bloodline of the Bronze Age Hittites flowed through the plains of Anatolia , as the kings expanded...
An agent of the Assassins (left, in white turban) fatally stabs Nizam al-Mulk, a Seljuk vizier, in 1092 AD. (14th-century AD manuscript) Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul (Public Domain)

History Of Assassins: When Human Hunter-Killers Began Hunting Humans

For at least 200,000 years Homo sapiens were hunter-gatherer-fishers and at the end of the last Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago, they flipped from being the number one prey food on the planet to...
The Thesmophoric procession by Francis Davis Millet (1894) Brigham Young University Museum of Art (Public Domain)

The Original Meaning Of The Mysteries Of The Ancient World

For probably over 2,000 years in antiquity, mystery rites were celebrated in many different cities stretching from parts of Europe and Africa all the way to India. There were many variations to the...
Historical Chinese Gardens: Sanctuaries For The Mind And Body

Historical Chinese Gardens: Sanctuaries For The Mind And Body

In a garden, art, science, nature and the mind collide. It is no surprise then, that many stories in ancient religions and philosophies are set in gardens. Christians believe that the Garden of Eden...
Diomedes Devoured by his Horses, by Gustave Moreau (1865), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen (Public Domain)

Hotdogs, Hamburgers And Humans On The Menu For Carnivorous Horses

An article in the magazine The Horse entitled Carnivorous Horses by Dr Sue McDonnell in which she described horses killing and devouring other animals, spurred some letters to the editors from...
Christine de Pisan presenting her book to queen Isabeau of Bavaria. Illuminated miniature from The Book of the Queen (various works by Christine de Pizan) (Public Domain)

Christine de Pizan, 15th-Century Feminist And Social Commentator

“The female sex has been left defenseless for a long time now, like an orchard without a wall and bereft of a champion to take up arms in order to protect it…” The Book of the City of Ladies by...
Abraham leaves Haran for Egypt by Francesco Bassano the Younger (1560 – 1592) 	 Rijksmuseum (Public Domain)

The Sumerian Hypothesis: The Influence Of Sumer On The Primeval History

The use of Mesopotamian material in the motifs and stories found in Genesis 1–11 (also called the Primeval History) has been of great interest to biblical scholars for many years. Although the...
Mosaic of Theodora - Basilica of San Vitale, RAVENNA (built A.D. 547), Italy. UNESCO World heritage site. (Petar Milošević/ CC BY-SA 4.0)

Formidable Byzantine Roman Empress Theodora - Saint Or Sinner?

The hooded gaze of an inscrutable Theodora (c.497- 548 AD) greets hundreds of thousands of visitors each year as they pay their respects to her mosaic at the Basilica of Saint Vitale in Ravenna ,...
Nuclear war concept. Explosion of nuclear bomb. Creative artwork decoration in dark.

Cakra, Destroyer Of Planets: Did Ancient Nuclear Technology Exist?

Nuclear power has caused some serious disasters throughout the world. Is it a modern phenomenon, or is there evidence of its existence in the ancient world? The worst nuclear disaster in the United...
Mahapajapati Gotami Buddha’s stepmother and Buddhist nuns (Dharma / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Bhadda Kundalakesa The Rebellious Intelligent Buddhist Nun

The Therigatha ( Verses of the Elder Nuns ) is a collection of short poems by and about the early enlightened women in Buddhism. These women were the theris (senior ones) among ordained Buddhist...
Callanish Stones (spanishjohnny72 / Adobe Stock)

The Great British Archaeoastronomical Megalithic Structure Myth

In 1637 AD, John Greaves, the English mathematician, astronomer, antiquarian and professor of geometry at Gresham College in London, England, measured and studied famous ancient monuments in Italy...
Richard the Lionheart on his way to Jerusalem, James William Glass (1850) (Public Domain)

Medieval Mediciners, Administering Miraculous Cures During The Crusades

History fails to record the names of any of the mediciners who accompanied the chivalric orders on their Crusade , but when each of the noblemen of western Europe pledged their oath to take up the...
From King Tut To The Jewish Tallit

From King Tut To The Jewish Tallit

There is perhaps no greater symbol of Judaism than the white prayer shawl, the tallit . Likewise, there is probably no greater symbol of ancient Egypt’s majesty than the golden funerary mask of the...
Arabic astronomical chart (Sergey Kamshylin  /Adobe Stock)

Ancient Transmissions Of The History Of The Constellations

How old are the constellations? How were they transmitted through human history? Quite early during humanity’s long journey on earth, many of the brighter stars were named and then arranged into...

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