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Venus

Mercury figurine was discovered in Kent, England and dates back 2,000 years. Source:  © National Trust Images/James Dobson

Excavations in Kent Reveal Mercury Figurine and Roman Settlement

Excavations at Smallhythe Place in England’s Kent have revealed both a medieval shipbuilding site and an earlier Roman settlement. The latter yielded the unexpected find of the head of a figurine...
Prehistoric Jomon dogu statue with large eyes and hips, Ebisuda Site in Tajiri, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.  1000–400 BC. Source: World Imaging/CC BY-SA 3.0

Ancient Dogu Figurines With Large Goggle-eyes Defy Scholarly Explanation

The Jomon Period is the earliest identifiable period in Japanese history and is broken into several categories—Incipient, Early, Middle, and Late. Comprised of a sedentary culture, the Jomon people...
The Pyramid of the Magician at Uxmal, a Maya observatory, under a starry sky which includes the constellation of Orion, to the left. (Image: © Jonathon Perrin)

Chasing The Heavens: Ancient Observatories of the Yucatán Maya

Centuries ago, Maya astronomer-priests charted the heavens from huge stone observatories. From above the jungles of the Yucatán in modern-day Mexico, they carefully recorded the motions of the gods...
Left; Female figurine found at Battifratta Cave. Right; archaeologists investigating at the cave. Source: Sapienza University of Rome

Enigmatic 7,000-year-old Figurine Found In Italian Cave Shocks Archaeologists

When archaeologists in Italy were exploring the spectacular Battifratta Cave, they did not expect to unearth “a rare” clay female figurine. And neither were they ready for the dating of the piece,...
Venus statues found at Roman quarry in Rennes.	Source: © Emmanuelle Collado/INRAP

Roman Venus Statues Found Amongst the Garbage

It has often been said that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. A team of archaeologists in France recently offered definitive proof of this old aphorism, when they discovered a remarkable...
8,000-year-old Mother Goddess figurine excavated at Sha’ar HaGolan, Israel Source: Anna Eirikh-Rose / Jerusalem Post

8,000-Year-Old Yarmukian Mother Goddess Unearthed

An 8,000-year-old "Mother Goddess" figurine has been uncovered at a Neolithic site in Israel. Why then, does she have “coffee-shaped” eyes? Located at the foot of the Golan Heights in the Jordan...
Four views of the Venus of Willendorf, which a recent study proved was made from oolite limestone from a prominent prehistoric site in northern Italy.		Source: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen / CC BY-SA 4.0

High-Tech Scans Prove Austria’s Venus of Willendorf Originated in Italy

During an archaeological dig near the village of Willendorf in Lower (Eastern) Austria in 1908, a laborer dug up a small statue that proved to be one of the most important pieces of prehistoric art...
The white pipeclay Roman Venus figurine after cleaning and how it was found. 		Source: GloucestershireLive / Cotswold Archaeology

1,800-year-old Roman Venus Figurine Found In England Was A Home Deity

A 17-centimeter (6.7 inch) tall Roman Venus figurine has been discovered by archaeologists in the city of Gloucester, England. This 1,800-year-old find has created considerable excitement in the...
Venus: Eroticized Goddess of Love, Fertility, Agriculture… and Infidelity?

Venus: Eroticized Goddess of Love, Fertility, Agriculture… and Infidelity?

According to Roman mythology, Venus was the goddess most famously associated with love, beauty, and fertility. Less commonly known, however, is that Venus was also worshipped as the goddess of...
Aine: A Radiant Celtic Goddess of Love, Summer, and Sovereignty

Aine: Radiant Celtic Goddess of Love, Summer, and Sovereignty

Aine is often remembered as a Celtic goddess of love. But she was also a deity of wealth, sovereignty, and the summer. Her sensitive and joyful personality brought her many followers in the Celtic...
Footprints, Fairies and even a Foreskin: 10 Bizarre Relics from History

Footprints, Fairies and even a Foreskin: 10 Bizarre Relics from History

From time immemorial, people had the need to venerate objects of great significance: religious relics, mythical symbols, or depictions of holy figures. And as if answering this need, the religious...
The Planet Venus as a Symbol of Death and Resurrection in Ancient Mesoamerica

The Planet Venus as a Symbol of Death and Resurrection in Ancient Mesoamerica

Do our myths come from the stars or do we project our myths onto the stars? The story of Mithras truly does come from astronomical discoveries in the ancient world. It was noticed that every 2,160...
A high resolution 3D image of the planet Venus, second planet from the Sun which is surrounded by the “invisible” clouds of Venus. Image: WithanTor / Adobe Stock

Can Exploring The Clouds Of Venus Find The Origins Of Life?

It is known that planet Earth is about 4.54 billion years old and that life on our planet dates from at least 3.5 billion years ago. However, despite knowing when life first appeared on Earth,...
Representative image of the comet Atlas in the night sky.      Source: Tryfonov / Adobe stock

Ancient Comet ‘Atlas’ Measures Half the Size of the Sun and it’s Back!

A huge icy space rock, comet ‘Atlas’, is currently in the constellation Ursa Major in the northern sky passing through the orbit of Mars , but it’s on a trajectory with our Sun and it will get...
Fertility goddesses can be found in all cultures and times. Source: zolotareva_elina /Adobe Stock

Praying For Life – Top 10 Ancient Fertility Goddesses

Throughout the ancient history of the world, polytheism - commonly known as paganism or heathenism - was the defining aspect of all societies and civilizations. Our ancestors had complex and...
December 21, the longest night and shortest day of the year, is a special event at Newgrange in County Meath, Ireland. This photo was shot August 24, 2014.

Winter Solstice: Stone Age People in Ireland built a Fantastic Monument to the New Year

Tomorrow, 22 December, the Irish will celebrate the Winter Solstice as they did thousands of years ago – at Newgrange, a 5,000-year-old megalithic monument into which the sun shines at sunrise on the...
Psyché et l'Amour (Cupid and Psyche), also known as Psyche Receiving Cupid's First Kiss (1798) by François Gérard.

Cupid and Psyche: True Love Conquers All

The mythological tale of Cupid and Psyche is one of the few Greek and Roman myths that has not fully become assimilated into modern consciousness. Though adapted somewhat into the better known "...
The Venus of Brassempouy

Timeless Beauty of the 25,000-Year-Old Venus of Brassempouy

About 25,000 years ago an Upper Paleolithic artist took up a piece of ivory and lovingly carved the details of a woman’s coiffed hair or headdress, gracefully curved chin, intense eyes, and carefully...
Many factors influence body image

The Ideal Woman’s Body – a Gift of the Gods?

We all know what the perfect woman’s body looks like. Or do we? Is it Kim Kardashian, with her popular ‘internet-breaking’ big behind, or Marilyn Monroe with her voluptuous movie curves? Is it a...
Venus of Willendorf statuette.

Iconic 30000-Year-Old Ancient Female Dubbed “Dangerous Pornography” By Facebook

A 30,000-year-old carving of a voluptuous naked woman known as the “Venus of Willendorf” statuette, has been censored by Facebook as “dangerous pornography”. Discovered in the early 20th century near...
Venus and Anchises

Explainer: The Gods Behind the Days of the Week

The Roman weekday ‘dies Veneris’ was named after the planet Venus, which in turn took its name from Venus, goddess of love. The origins of our days of the week lie with the Romans. The Romans named...
Stalk of basil.

Sacred Plant of Eternal Love and Healing: The Mythology and Magic of Basil

In Mediterranean cuisine it is the symbol of summer and its origins are lost in the mists of time. Fragrant and delicate with its green leaves it manages to tantalize the most demanding palates, it...
The findings included vases and a series of lamps, notably some included depictions of the Roman goddess Venus and two cupids.

Valuable Jewels, Ornate Lamps and Coins Unearthed from 2,000-Year-Old Tombs in Corinth

A team of Greek researchers has unearthed unique jewels, coins and other precious artifacts while excavating tombs near the ruins of the ancient city of Corinth. Experts estimate that the newly found...
Detail of Alexandre Cabanel’s ‘The Birth Of Venus.’

Linking the Planets and Human Life: Venus Calendars Helped Track Pregnancy in Neolithic Greece

Back in 4000 BC women of the ancient Aegean civilization may have used a calendar tracking the movement of the planet Venus to follow their pregnancy milestones. This is an intriguing explanation for...

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