Zeus

16 March, 2019 - 20:29 Miriam Kamil

Helen of Troy, The Beauty Who Sparked the Trojan War

In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy is known as the woman whose beauty sparked the Trojan War. But Helen’s character is more complex than it seems. When considering the many Greek and Roman myths that...

God the Father’ (1510-1520) by Ludovico Mazzolino.

2 January, 2019 - 23:02 Caleb Strom

Dyeus Pater—The Original All-Father of the Gods

The ancestors of the Indo-European peoples looked up into the sky and saw a father, a cosmic patriarch with authority over the realm of daylight. Many Indo-European pantheons contain gods associated...

Leda and the Swan fresco found at Pompeii

20 November, 2018 - 23:01 ashley cowie

Steamy Fresco Discovered In Pompeii Bedroom Depicts The Seduction Of Queen Leda By A Swan

Archaeologists in Italy have discovered an “excellently" preserved and highly-colorful detailed fresco in an ancient Pompeii bedroom depicting an erotic scene in which a god disguised as a swan...

A statue of Artemis as the mythological Roman huntress Diana.

16 November, 2018 - 18:52 Alicia McDermott

Artemis, the Chaste Huntress: You Really Didn’t Want to Mess With This Greek Goddess

The ancient Greek goddess Artemis was many things to many people. A huntress, virgin, midwife, twin, independent woman, protector, plague-bearer…the list goes on and on. Her appearance did not change...

25 October, 2018 - 22:59 dhwty

Gaia: The Greek Earth Goddess Had No Tolerance for Cruel Family Members

According to the ancient Greeks, Gaia was a primordial deity and the personification of the Earth. In fact, her name can actually be translated to mean ‘land’ or ‘earth’. In Greek mythology, Gaia was...

Hephaestus in ‘Vulcan forging the Thunderbolts of Jupiter’ (1636-1638) by Peter Paul Rubens.

17 September, 2018 - 01:51 dhwty

How Did Greek God Hephaestus Score the Goddess of Love?

As one of the twelve Olympians, Hephaestus was a major deity for the ancient Greeks. In Greek mythology, Hephaestus was primarily the god of fire and smiths, but he was also in charge of other crafts...

What the chryselephantine statue of Zeus at Olympia may have looked like.

16 June, 2018 - 14:03 dhwty

Chryselephantine: Sculpting the Most Luxurious Greek Cult Statues

Gold and ivory – what could be a richer mix? The ancient Greeks saw this as one of the most luxurious combinations as well, which is why they reserved the chryselephantine sculpting technique for...

The famous Omphalos considered to be the center of the Universe for ancient Greeks, Delphi, Greece.

5 June, 2018 - 21:51 dhwty

The Sacred Omphalos Stone, Navel of the World and Communicator of the Gods

An omphalos is a powerful symbolic artifact made from stone. Considered the ‘navel of the world’, the central point from which terrestrial life originated, an omphalos was an object of Hellenic...

‘L’enlèvement de Proserpine’ (The Rape of Proserpine) (circa 1636) by Peter Paul Rubens.

21 March, 2018 - 17:57 Mary E. Naples

The Rape of a Goddess: How Demeter Beat the All-Powerful Zeus

Who were Demeter and Persephone? And why did their myth resonate so strongly with women of ancient Greece? The story of Demeter, goddess of the harvest, and her daughter Persephone, queen of the...

Prometheus and Hercules by Christian Griepenkerl.

17 March, 2018 - 12:50 Van Bryan

Betrayed by the Acts of Others? The Events that Led to Prometheus’s Perennial Punishment

The story of Prometheus, Epimetheus and Pandora is a popular myth of ancient Greece - one that has been told and retold throughout the ages. It is a tale of Prometheus, the son of a titan, who was...

2 March, 2018 - 13:57 Robert Bowie Johnson

Ancient Greek Vase Celebrates the Exaltation of Our Ancestors as Gods

In 2016, Christie’s sold the Greek vase depicted above—a red-figure bell krater used for mixing wine with water—to a buyer in London for $220,000. It dates from 410 BC. For a mythology buff, what a...

23 October, 2017 - 13:58 dhwty

Sisyphus: King Cheats Death, Annoys Zeus, and Receives Never-ending Punishment in the Greek Underworld

Doomed to forever roll a huge boulder up a steep hill, Sisyphus is a figure in Greek mythology who represents an impossible task. As his punishment in the Greek Underworld, each time Sisyphus neared...

A vase-scene from about 410 BC. Nimrod/Herakles, wearing his fearsome lion skin headdress, spins Noah/Nereus around and looks him straight in the eye. Noah gets the message and grimaces, grasping his scepter, a symbol of his rule - soon to be displaced in the post-Flood world by Nimrod/Herakles, whose visage reveals a stern smirk.

19 September, 2017 - 13:59 Robert Bowie Johnson

Ancient Greek Vase Artists Painted Images of Biblical Figures Noah and Nimrod Over 2,000 Years Ago

The Book of Genesis describes human history. Ancient Greek religious art depicts human history. While their viewpoints are opposite, the recounted events and characters match each other in convincing...

18 September, 2017 - 14:01 dhwty

The Unshakeable Power of Zeus, Prime Mover of Ancient Greek Deities

“ Then Zeus no longer held back his might; but straight his heart was filled with fury and he showed forth all his strength. From Heaven and from Olympus he came forthwith, hurling his lightning: the...

16 August, 2017 - 19:01 Robert Bowie Johnson

Garden of Eden Depicted in Ancient Greek Religious Art

If the early chapters of the Book of Genesis present a true account of human origins, then ancient secular human history must connect in significant ways to that account. In fact, ancient Greek...

1 July, 2017 - 18:19 Mark Oliver

Unleashing The Power of the Gods: Hexes and Black Magic in the Ancient Greek Olympics

When the ancient Olympics began, the greatest athletes in Greece gathered before a statue of Zeus Horkios, the god of oaths. Laid before its feet would be the freshly cut meat of a boar sacrificed by...

Pages

Myths & Legends

The Epic of Gilgamesh. Source: Luca Oleastri / Adobe.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Searching For a Way to the Home Planet

In contrast to many theorists, this unconventional retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead searching for the means of transport to return to his goddess mother Ninsun’s home planet in the heavens.

The Real Story of Medusa: Protective Powers from a Snake-Haired Gorgon

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

The Menhune of Hawaii – Ancient Race or Fictional Fairytale?

The notorious and much feared ancient order of Hashshashins

Human Origins

Work using the Statue of Gilgamesh and Lamassu. Source: CC BY 4.0

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

This retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the unconventional idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead searching for the means of transport to return to his goddess mother Ninsun’s home planet in the heavens. Taking poetic licence, the author merges some ideas from modern science and technology with the story from the ancient text.

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

The Pagan Wheel of the Year: What Elaborate Rituals and Events Mark this Sacred Cycle?

Rh-Negative Blood: An Exotic Bloodline or Random Mutation?

Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King

Are the Distinctive Kalash People of Pakistan Really Descendants of Alexander the Great’s Army?

Ancient Technology

An ancient Roman road at Leptis Magna, Libya

Ancient Journeys: What was Travel Like for the Romans?

It was not uncommon for the ancient Romans to travel long distances all across Europe. Actually during the Roman Empire, Rome had an incredible road network which extended from northern England all...

Mummy Brown – the 16th century paint made from ground up mummies

Why Are There 365 Days in a Year? Organizing Dates with an Ancient Egyptian Calendar

Romans Had Ancient Tech for Creating Seismic Invisibility Cloak Around Monuments

The incredible earthquake detector invented nearly 2,000 years ago

Romans in Pompeii Repaired the Roads with Molten Iron

Ancient Places

Royal Palace at Ebla. Source: CC BY-SA 3.0

First Kingdoms: The Forgotten Mesopotamian Kingdom of Ebla

Spectacular things were happening in Mesopotamia in the period we call the Early Bronze Age, particularly in the southern part of it, commonly called Babylonia.

Sumer: Where Written Language, Arithmetic and Civilization Were Born

The Great Ziggurat of Ur

Homer’s Iliad Casts Doubt on the Aegean Location of Troy

A Monumental Cover Up? Why did Gobekli Tepe End Up in the Dirt?

The Mysterious Dolmens of the Caucasus

Opinion

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

There are many accounts of a land of immortality and eternal youth in world myths and legends, as well as shamanic and indigenous spiritual traditions. Mysterious Worlds Writing in his recent work,...

Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King

Changing Colors and Scampering Across the Night Sky: What Did the Ancients Say about Sirius?

Cracking the Code to Discover Ancient Tarot Symbolism and Forgotten Universal Knowledge

The Secret Strategic Plans of Darius the Great

The Secrets of the Kabbalists Garden

Our Mission

At Ancient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there exists countless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts that have yet to be discovered and explained.

The goal of Ancient Origins is to highlight recent archaeological discoveries, peer-reviewed academic research and evidence, as well as offering alternative viewpoints and explanations of science, archaeology, mythology, religion and history around the globe.

We’re the only Pop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives.

By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings.