In the heart of the Attica region in Greece, nestled among the majestic hills of Mount Hymettus, lies an enigmatic place that has witnessed the passage of time and the devotion of ancient peoples. The Cave of the Nympholyptos is an archaeological site of exceptional historical and cultural importance. Surrounded by myths and sculptures carved […]
Mythology
Posted inIron Age Archaeology
The Name of the Iberian Goddess Linked to the Cult of the Planet Venus, Toward Which Her Temples Were Oriented, Revealed
A team of researchers led by Daniel Iborra Pellín, from the University of Alicante, has presented new evidence about the name and worship of the Iberian Dea Mater, the chief female deity of the Iberians during the Iron Age. According to the study published in the journal Complutum, this deity, a symbol of fertility and […]
Posted inMiddle Ages
The Strange Legend of the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary
The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, also called Borametz and Polypodium Borametz, or “Chinese polypody,” is a plant shaped like a lamb, covered in golden fluff. It stands on four or five roots; the plants around it die, yet it remains lush; when cut, it releases a bloody juice (…) In other monsters, species or animal […]
Posted inPre-Columbian Era
The New Fire Ceremony Practiced by the Mexica to Prevent the End of the World
Letting go of the old to enter the new year is a metaphorical custom that is quite rooted in some corners of Italy, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. In the transalpine country, and more specifically in places like Naples, Calabria, or Sicily, objects of all kinds (even furniture, for which there are specific hours ad hoc) […]
Posted inAncient Rome
The Debated Historicity of the Overthrow of the Roman Monarchy and the Birth of the Republic
Traditionally, the history of Rome begins with its founding by Romulus, a descendant of the exiled Trojan Aeneas, and the establishment of a monarchy under which seven kings succeeded one another. The last of these was Tarquinius Superbus the Proud, who was overthrown in the 6th century BCE after his son assaulted a patrician woman […]
Posted inAntiquity, Art
Farnese Atlas, the First Known Representation of the Celestial Sphere
Atlas was one of the Titans in Greek mythology, son of Iapetus and the Oceanid Clymene, and brother of Prometheus. After the war against the Olympian gods, Zeus condemned him to hold up the vault of the sky (or celestial sphere) on his shoulders for all eternity. Herodotus claimed that Atlas (also known as Atlante) […]
Posted inAntiquity
The Relationship Between the First Bronze Alloy Used by Humans and the Deformity of Some Gods Like Hephaestus and Vulcan
Toward the end of the 4th millennium B.C., a revolutionary technology emerged in the Near East: metallurgy, which gave its name to the prehistoric period we now know as the Bronze Age. Bronze was the first significant alloy obtained by humans, and for millennia it was the basic alloy used for the production of tools, […]
Posted inAncient Egypt
Shabaka Stone, the most notable preserved document of Egyptian thought, recounting the myth of creation
The Shabaka Stone is a granite slab from the 25th Egyptian Dynasty, housed in the British Museum, containing the Memphite theology that regarded Ptah as the supreme god and creator. Ptah was the “master builder”, the inventor of masonry, and the patron of architects and craftsmen. According to some specialists, this is the most notable […]
Posted inAntiquity, Science
The Greatest Climate Catastrophe in Human History May Have Originated the Myth of Ragnarok and Led to the Invention of Rye Bread
In Norse mythology, the end of the world, Ragnarok, begins with a three-year winter with no intervening summers: the Fimbulvetr. Now, a new research study from the National Museum of Denmark, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science Reports, shows that the myth could have roots in a real climate catastrophe that occurred 1,500 years […]
Posted inAntiquity
New Study Says Dinosaur Fossils did not Inspire the Griffin Myth
A widely accepted idea that dinosaur fossils inspired the myth of the griffin, a creature with the head and wings of an eagle on a lion’s body, has been challenged by a new study. For over 30 years, this link has been popularized, starting with articles and books by Adrienne Mayor, such as her 1989 […]
