Hatshepsut ruled Egypt for thirty-five years in the fifteenth century BC. First, as the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II and then as Pharaoh in her own right. The Temple of Hatshepsut is a mortuary temple built during her reign. Constructed roughly a millennium after the Great Pyramid of Giza and over four hundred […]
Temple of the First Woman Pharaoh, Hatshepsut Read More »
Mimir is an obscure figure from Norse mythology, more ancient than Odin himself. His name in Old Norse meant The Rememberer. Mimir guarded the Well of Wisdom that lay between the roots of the World Tree, which made up the center of their universe. Yggdrasil, also called the World Tree, is an ancient ash tree
Mimir: The Wise Norse God More Ancient than Odin Himself Read More »
Nine thousand years ago, the British Isles were connected to each other and to the mainland by vast stretches of low-lying lands. These lands were collectively referred to as Doggerland. At its height, this vast area made up a quarter of European land. It provided rich hunting grounds for countless generations of hominids, including prehistoric
Doggerland: The Long Lost Land of Ancient Europe Read More »
Shambhala is a mythical place in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Europeans sought for years to find this much-talked-about location, but it does not exist on the physical plane. Speaking of Shambhala in 1985, the 14th Dalai Lama said: Although those with special affiliation may actually be able to go there through their karmic connection,
Kingdom of Shambhala: The Mystical City and Way of Life Read More »
Charybdis is a sea monster born of the Greek gods Poseidon and Gaia – the sea and the earth. According to some accounts, Charybdis controlled the tides. In her endless thirst, she gulped great quantities of seawater and spit it out again, causing low and high tides each day. The name Charybdis comes from the
Charybdis: Ancient Sea Monster and Daughter of Poseidon Read More »
The Great Serpent Mound is an ancient earthworks site located in present-day Ohio. This effigy mound is over a quarter of a mile long, up to twenty-five feet wide, and five feet tall. It’s the largest serpent effigy ever discovered. Effigy mounds were common in the Mississippi Valley. Other surviving examples have been found in
The Mystery of the Great Serpent Mound of Ohio Read More »
Gaul was a region in Europe inhabited by a number of tribes. It was eventually absorbed into the Roman Empire. This region in the present day contains the countries of France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Northern Italy, and parts of the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland. Little is known of life in pre-Roman Gaul, because there are virtually
What was life like in Ancient, Pre-Roman Gaul? Read More »
The Sphinx is a mythical creature with a human head and the body of a lion. In Greek mythology, the Sphinx also had the wings of an eagle. The word ‘Sphinx’ comes to English from the Greek. Some scholars believe that this name comes from the Greek word for ‘squeeze’ – a reference to how
The Great Sphinx of Giza Through the Centuries Read More »
Thoth is the Greek name for the ancient Egyptian god Djehuty. Most often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis, he was also sometimes shown as a baboon. The ibis-headed man was often shown with the moon on his head in the form of the lunar disc resting atop a crescent moon.
The Many Roles and Powers of the Egyptian God, Thoth Read More »
Rising up out of the water like someplace from a fairy tale, Venice is a city of extremes. A romantic destination of bridges and canals… and a moldering cesspool of crumbling buildings tilting slowly towards the mud that has supported them for a thousand years or more. It begs the question: why was this astonishing
How was the Floating City of Venice Constructed? Read More »
