Shamanism: Did you mean...?

The Greek poet Hesiod (c. 700 BCE) is most famous for his works Theogony and Works and Days. In this passage from Theogony, Hesiod relates the birth of the gods from cosmic Chaos and follows the lineage through the great Zeus, King of the...

On 5 May 1593, a series of anti-Protestant bills were posted throughout the city of London. One of the bills was written in iambic pentameter and included several references to the works of celebrated poet Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593...

The gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt were an integral aspect of the peoples’ daily lives, inhabiting not only the temples thought to be their homes but the streams, lakes, plains, and trees of the land and, of course, the Nile River. The...

Aztec religion and culture flourished between c. 1345 and 1521 and, at its height, influenced the majority of the people of northern Mesoamerica. Great monarchs such as Montezuma imposed Aztec ideals across the area of modern-day Mexico...

Clottes' book, translated from the French, introduces the reader to current issues in the study of parietal art, the technical term for prehistoric paintings found on walls both outside and in caves. One can imagine the difficulty studying...

Ninhursag (also Ninhursaga) is the Sumerian mother goddess and one of the oldest and most important in the Mesopotamian pantheon. She is known as the Mother of the Gods and Mother of Men for her part in creating both divine and mortal entities...

Mesopotamia (from the Greek, meaning "between two rivers") was an ancient region located in the Near East (Middle East) bounded in the northeast by the Zagros Mountains and in the southeast by the Arabian Plateau, corresponding to modern-day...

The Aztec Empire (c. 1345-1521) covered at its greatest extent most of northern Mesoamerica. Aztec warriors were able to dominate their neighbouring states and permit rulers such as Montezuma to impose Aztec ideals and religion across Mexico...

The Inca civilization flourished in ancient Peru between c. 1400 and 1533 CE. The Inca Empire eventually extended across western South America from Quito in the north to Santiago in the south. It was the largest empire ever seen in the Americas...

In the ancient Greek world, religion was personal, direct, and present in all areas of life. With formal rituals which included animal sacrifices and libations, myths to explain the origins of mankind and give the gods a human face, temples...