Festivals: Did you mean...?

Titus Flavius Josephus (36-100 CE), was born Yosef ben Matityahu and became a 1st-century CE Jewish historian. He was a member of a priestly household in Jerusalem through his father’s side (the house and order of Jehoiarib), and his mother...

The position of God's Wife of Amun was one of the most politically powerful and spiritually significant in later Egyptian history. Elevated from a figurehead in the New Kingdom (c.1570-1069 BCE), the God's Wife of Amun would hold power equal...

Beer is one of the oldest intoxicating beverages consumed by human beings. Even a cursory survey of history makes clear that, after human beings have taken care of the essential needs of food, shelter, and rudimentary laws for the community...

A belief in an afterlife was central to every major civilization of the ancient world and this encouraged the recognition of the reality of ghosts as the spirits of the departed who, for one reason or another, either returned from the realm...

Aristophanes (c. 460 - c. 380 BCE) was the most famous writer of Old Comedy plays in ancient Greece and his surviving works are the only examples of that style. His innovative and sometimes rough comedy could also hide more sophisticated...

Qebhet (also known as Kebehwet, Kabechet or Kebechet) is a benevolent goddess of ancient Egypt. She is the daughter of the god Anubis, granddaughter of the goddess Nephthys and god Osiris, and is the personification of cool, refreshing water...

Shulgi of Ur (r. 2029-1982 BCE) is considered the greatest king of the Ur III Period in Mesopotamia (2047-1750 BCE). His father was Ur-Nammu (r.2047-2030 BCE), who founded the Third Dynasty of Ur, and his mother was a daughter of King Utu-Hegal...

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (l. 64/62 – 12 BCE) was Augustus' (r. 27 BCE - 14 CE) most trusted and unshakably loyal general and his right-hand man in the administration of the city of Rome. Although his name is forever connected with the first...

The sistrum (rattle) was a musical percussion instrument first used by the ancient Egyptians, commonly used in ancient Greek musical practices, and often depicted in visual arts such as sculpture and pottery. Made from clay, wood, or metal...

The Greek dramatist Aeschylus (c. 525 - c. 456 BCE) is considered one of the greatest tragic playwrights of his generation. He is often referred to as the “Father of Greek Tragedy.” Older than both Sophocles and Euripides, he was the most...