Pomegranate: Did you mean...?

The ancient Near East, and the historical region of the Fertile Crescent in particular, is generally seen as the birthplace of agriculture. The first agricultural evidence comes from the Levant, from where it spread to Mesopotamia, enabling...

Ancient Egypt is defined as the civilization that flourished in North Africa between circa 6000 and 30 BCE – from the Predynastic Period in Egypt (circa 6000 to circa 3150 BCE) through the Ptolemaic Dynasty (323-30 BCE) before Egypt became...

The Rites of Eleusis, or the Eleusinian Mysteries, were the secret rituals of the mystery school of Eleusis and were observed regularly from c. 1600 BCE - 392 CE. Exactly what this mystic ritual was no one knows; but why the ancient Greeks...

The Etruscans produced bronze goods going back to the Villanovan period (1100-750 BCE) and used the material for all manner of objects, but it is their figure sculptures which have become some of the star attractions in museums worldwide...

Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. (Karl Marx, Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right). When it comes to religion, many people...

The culture of drinking wine was enjoyed throughout the Mediterranean world, and what is true now was true in antiquity, too: wine is always good business. The Hellenistic Period (c. 335-30 BCE), between Alexander the Great and Cleopatra...

Crates of Thebes (l. c. 360-280 BCE) was one of the most important Cynic philosophers of ancient Greece. He was born to a wealthy family in Thebes but gave away his inheritance after realizing the futility of material possessions and the...

A Mycenaean bronze tripod from Tiryns. Decorated with cow and goat heads with pomegranate and birds hanging from the upper ring. 12th century BCE. (National Archaeoloigcal Musem, Athens)

The upper part is a freestanding basalt monument depicting the goddess Kubaba, consort of the storm god Teshub, and one of the most important deities at Carchemish. She holds a mirror and pomegranate, symbols of magic and fertility. Neo-Hittite...

This image shows two objects: The free-standing basalt stele depicts the goddess Kubaba, consort of the storm god Teshub, and one of the most important deities at the city of Carchemish. Kubaba stands below a winged-disc and holds a pomegranate...