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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...
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...
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...
“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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The canoti (or canotila) are small creatures found in Sioux culture , canoti meaning “tree-dweller” and canotila signifying “small tree-dweller.” Considered tiny messengers of beings who exist in the...
Since the beginning of humankind, there has been the pressing need to understand the reasons why humans were created. What purpose do humans serve? Each ancient and modern culture hold their own...
One of ancient Egypt’s most-enduring embalming enigmas has to be its cryptic head cones. These unusual objects can be seen in tomb paintings perched atop the heads of both mummies and living people...
Situated in southern Turkey near the upper Euphrates, Gōbekli Tepe has become famous for its surprisingly advanced megalithic architecture and symbolism, seemingly too early for the hunter-gather...
Coming in an infinite number of shapes and colors, seashells have been used as a medium of exchange for centuries in a variety of locations, such as many Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean islands, as...
The rich fertile lands of Egypt’s Nile Delta must have been looked on with avaricious eyes from their next-door neighbors to the east. All that lush greenery lay in stark contrast to the deserts of...
“ Know ye not that ye are Gods ” reads Psalm 82 verse 6 and John 10 verse 34. It is quite a radical thought, but some scientists are beginning to entertain a rather shocking speculation that might...
Nothing about magical and mysterious Sintra is straightforward, including its name. Sintra can refer to a small town in western Portugal, a short distance north and west of Lisbon, or the large and...
About 2.6 million years ago, predating Homo Sapiens , early human ancestors founded mining when they dug for stones that were best suited for making survival tools and weapons. They knew that stones...
Immuring themselves in an underground stone chamber, sealed tight, waiting to die: that is what more than 24 known individuals did in northern Japan from the 1200s until the 19th century, though it...
It is often assumed that the biblical ‘Nephilim’ were all Giants. The Nephilim, however, entail much more and can be traced back to a much richer tradition found in ancient Mesopotamia about the...
During the 16th century a Christian slave, captured when only 15-years-old, shattered the traditional rules of the Ottoman Empire and through her intelligence and charm became its first Empress,...
