All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

religion

Wallpainting in a Laotian temple, depicting the Bodhisattva Gautama (Buddha-to-be) undertaking extreme ascetic practices before his enlightenment. A god is overseeing his striving, and providing some spiritual protection. The five monks in the background are his future 'five first disciples'.

Wealth and Religion Tied through Time: Was Ancient Religious Morality Spurred by Affluence?

Religion has become associated with having a focus on morality. But that wasn’t always the case, researchers say. Academics have long suspected that the modern world’s major religions were born of...
The Hanging Monastery of Mount Heng

The Precariously Hanging Monastery of Mount Heng

Hengshan, or Mount Heng, which is located in Shanxi province, is one of China’s Five Great Mountains. Pinned to the side of its cliff face is the Xuan Kong Si, also known as the Hanging Monastery...
Excavations dating to 2006 in Ecuador have unearthed the ruins of a large pool, called the Water Temple. Water was collected from miles away and brought to the site in a show of engineering skill.

The Inca-Caranqui Water Temple of Ecuador: A display of wealth and skillful hydraulic engineering

Water, essence of life and natural force sacred to the ancient Inca, was harnessed and controlled in a large man-made water temple in the late 15 th century. The pool, featuring finely carved and...
The Zoroastrian Ateshgah “Fire Temple” near Baku, Azerbaijan. The temple was built over natural burning vents which no longer provide gas, and so the flame is now artificially fed via a pipe.

Eternal Flames: Geologists Investigate Ancient Myths to Know More about Modern Fuel

Millennia ago, ancient cultures were astounded by the seeming miracle of natural flames which burned day and night for weeks, decades, or even centuries. The tales of such flames have become a focus...
A old tomb of the Zoroastrianism religion in the Sulaymaniyah province, Kurdistan. The inside has been robbed and is empty.

Emergence of Zoroastrianism and The Legacy of Zarathushtra

Read Part One At first, Zarathushtra preached among ordinary people on the streets but met harsh resistance from the conservative priesthood, and his teachings were dismissed. For twelve years he...
Zarathushtra

Zarathushtra - The Revolutionary Iranian Prophet and First Philosopher in History

There was a time when the philosophy of oneness, one entity and one universal power emerged out of the polytheistic teachings. The Persian words goftare nik, pendare nik, kerdare nik meaning good...
Detail, The Conversion of St. Paul. Paul and companions are knocked to the ground during the profound event.

Ancient Signs in the Sky: Did a Meteorite Change the Course of Christianity 2,000 Years Ago?

Did an ancient meteor have such a life-changing impact on witnesses of the day that it shaped a religion and altered the course of history? Astronomers theorize that the dramatic flash and boom that...
Zhang Daoling, the First Celestial Master of Taoism

Temple ruins excavated at the Palace of Zhang Daoling, the First Celestial Master of Taoism

An important ancient temple site dedicated to the founder of a sect of Taoism has recently been excavated by Chinese archaeologists. In China's Jiangxi Province, the archaeological site of ruins of...
Duke Margiris defending Pilėnai against Teutonic Knights 1336.

Mass suicide at Pilenai: Lithuanian Defenders Choose Death over Enslavement

The Crusades are best known as a series of military campaigns launched by Western European states, and sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church, aimed at reclaiming the Holy Land from the Muslims...
Detail of a miniature from a 13th-century Icelandic manuscript.

The Sagas of the Icelanders shed light on Golden Age

The Sagas of the Icelanders have long been preserved as the most comprehensive specimen of the literary culture of the 13 th and 14 th centuries of Iceland. In writing these sagas, many attributes of...

Archaeologists Date Prehistoric Temples in Hawaii to establish origins of First Kingdom

The prehistoric religious temples of Hawaii are being dated by researchers with the help of small sea creatures. Indigenous temples of Hawaii, known as heiau , can be found across the islands. Dr...
Abstract image depicting creation of the universe and mankind

The awesome, terrible, and unknowable creator gods through history

All throughout history people have invoked gods of various kinds, including incomprehensibly strange creators. Crediting an almighty god as the creator of the universe is an acknowledgement that the...
The Ancient Practice of Tengriism, Shamanism and Ancient Worship of the Sky Gods

The Ancient Practice of Tengriism, Shamanism and Ancient Worship of the Sky Gods

In ancient times, people in Central Asia practiced a religion known as Tengriism, which focused on living in harmony with the natural universe. While this religion was founded and most widely...
Cernunnos,"The Horned One" - Paganism

The true meaning of Paganism

The word "paganism" has come to refer to various pre-Christian religions belonging to a number of ancient cultures—those from Greece, Rome, Egypt, Scandinavia, and so on. It has come to also...
The Roman god Bacchus

The Roman god Bacchus as a Christian icon

Before the acceptance of Christianity, Roman polytheism was dominant in the western world. Rome's borders extended as far west as Britain and as far east as modern day Greece and Turkey. To help ease...
Dinosaur

Scientist dismissed after soft tissue found on dinosaur fossil

A microscope scientist working for California State University has been fired following the discovery that a Triceratops horn still contained soft tissue complete with bone cells “that look alive”,...
Ancient child skulls  gifts for Bronze Age lake gods

Ancient child skulls may have been gifts for Bronze Age lake gods

A new study published in the journal Antiquity has revealed that a number of Bronze Age child skulls discovered around the perimeter of ancient settlements in Switzerland and Germany show signs of...
Pyramids - Orion

Mirrors of Orion: Star Knowledge of the Ancient World – An Introduction

Egypt is the image of the heavens, and the whole Cosmos dwells here, in this its sanctuary— but the gods will desert the earth and return to heaven abandoning this land that was once the home of...
Samoa Cults

The Sailor Cults of Samoa

(Read Part 1 – Cannibal Jack Jones and the Beachcombers of Samoa ) In a development that was quite without parallel elsewhere, the Samoans in the 1830’s discovered a positive demand for a new...
Neolithic spirit masks - Jerusalem

Incredible collection of Neolithic spirit masks revealed for the first time

More than 10,000 years ago, ancient people living in the Judean Desert and Hills abandoned their nomadic lifestyles and established permanent settlements. Around this time, art, culture, and...
Nabataeans - Petra, Jordan

Ancient monuments of the Nabataeans were built according to celestial events

A study published in March by the Nexus Network Journal suggests that the spatial position of palaces, temples, and tombs built at least 2, 300 years ago by the Nabataeans, including the famous city...
Kachinas - the Gods of the Hopi

The Gods of the Hopi and the dance of the Kachinas

The Hopi live, move, and have their being in religion. To them the unseen world is peopled with a host of beings, good and bad, and everything in nature has its being or spirit. Just what kind of...
St Peter - Vatican

Vatican Announced Bones of St Peter will be Displayed Publicly for First Time

The Vatican has announced that it will display for the first time in history the remains of St Peter to mark the end of the Year of Faith. According to the New Testament, Saint Peter was one of Jesus...
Averroes Islamic Philosopher

‘Historical Amnesia’ has led to forgotten achievements of Muslim culture

In an article authored by Craig Considine , reference has been made to the extreme historical amnesia that has taken place with regards to the achievements and contributions of the Muslim culture to...

Pages