Grotesque Mummy Head Reveals Advanced Medieval Science

In the second century, an ethnically Greek Roman named Galen became doctor to the gladiators. His glimpses into the human body via these warriors' wounds, combined with much more systematic dissections of animals, became the basis of Islamic and European medicine for centuries.

Galen's texts wouldn't be challenged for anatomical supremacy until the Renaissance, when human dissections — often in public — surged in popularity. But doctors in medieval Europe weren't as idle as it may seem, as a new analysis of the oldest-known preserved human dissection in Europe reveals.

ATLANTIS REAL OR MYTH?

Was it real or is it just a myth? So many attention seekers have exaggerated or distorted the story that it has become synonymous with a "Fantasy" or an impossible quest.

Real or Myth?

Could Atlantis have existed as an actual country?  The answer could be yes.  Is it likely that Atlantis really existed exactly as described in Plato’s writings?

Agamemnon in Herodotus and Thucydides: Exploring the historical uses of amythological paradigm

This paper explores the use of the myth of Agamemnon in Herodotus and Thucydides.I argue that the deployment of Agamemnon in their works is shaped by, and sheds additionallight on, the historians’ attitude toward myth (and its use in rhetoric), their narrative aims andhistorical outlook. 

Herodotus’ readiness to embrace myth in both narrative and speeches, hisrepresentation of complex motivation, his description of the conflict between the Greeks andthe Persians, and his panhellenic outlook, influence the function of Agamemnon: as king of Sparta and the leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War, he reflects the idealistic and pragmaticmotivation of the Spartans in the context of the Persian Wars.

From Flood Myth to Martian Megafloods

“No one with an eye for land forms can cross eastern Washington in daylight without encountering and being impressed by the “scabland.” Like great scars marring the otherwise fair face to the plateau are these elongated tracts of bare, black rock carved into mazes of buttes and canyons. Everybody on the plateau knows scabland…[]…The popular name is a metaphor. The scablands are wounds only partially healed – great wounds in the epidermis of soil with which Nature protects the underlying rock…[]…The region is unique: let the observer take wings of the morning to the uttermost parts of the earth: he will nowhere find its likeness.”

The power of myths

Few things are as effective as a good myth when it comes to uniting a people or building a nation.

The word “myth” often makes you think of dusty, ancient stories about gods and heroes. These were the stories people shared around the fire in the olden days, when they had neither decent TV entertainment nor scientific explanations for the mysteries of life.

Yet new myths emerge all the time, especially when it comes to our search for an identity as a people or a nation.

“Nation-building myths often develop in a time of crisis, for example if there is a war, or a period of great political or ideological upheaval,” says Roald E. Kristiansen, associate professor at the Department of History and Religious Studies at the University of Tromsø.

Strange Accounts: The World of Hyperborea

Less well-known than Atlantis, the continent of Hyperborea was even more ancient and fantastic. As with Atlantis, Hyperborea was first mentioned by the ancient Greek philosophers. For them, the place was real, not legend, and since that time many researchers have joined in the quest for this lost land.

The oldest mention of Atlantis is found in the Epigones, an epic history of ancient Greece. Although the author has been forgotten, we do know it was written in the 8th Century B.C. Hyperborea is also mentioned in another work of the same period, this one by the celebrated poet Hesiod.

What Is Myth?

Question: What Is Myth? Although it may seem obvious, there is no single, simple answer. Here are some of the common ideas and their short-comings. Following these is a look at what folklorists and psychologists/psychoanalysts take the term to mean. Finally, there is a working definition you may find useful.

Answer: If It's a Silly Story, It Could Be a MythEveryone knows what a myth is, right? Centaurs. Flying pigs or horses. Return trips to the Underworld. Stories like: Obviously, you might argue, a myth is a (ridiculous) story no one really believes. Maybe some time, long ago, there were people naive enough to have believed in it, but now we know better.

Eridu

Eridu is an ancient Sumerian city in what is now Tell Abu Shahrain, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq. Eridu was considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia, and is one of the oldest cities in the world. Located 12 km southwest of Ur, Eridu was the southernmost of a conglomeration of Sumerian cities that grew about temples, almost in sight of one another.

In Sumerian mythology, Eridu was originally the home of Enki, who was considered to have founded the city, later known by the Akkadians as Ea. His temple was called E-Abzu, as Enki was believed to live in Abzu ("Deep Ocean"), an aquifer from which all life was believed to stem. Eridu transliterated as Eridug, could mean "mighty place" or "guidance place". In the Sumerian king list, Eridu is named as the city of the first kings.

Hesiod and the Bestiary

For this week's Myth Monday, inspired by Michael K. Kellogg's chapter on Hesiod, from his delightful The Greek Search for Wisdom, I wanted to give the Hesiodic spin on the bulk of the monsters from Greek mythology. Then came another round (see : last week's Myth Monday) of The Clash of the Titans on television, and my plans were postponed -- I thought. The movie showed the Hero Who Looks Away (my nickname for Perseus) decapitating Medusa, but Pegasus and his brother failed to emerge from the severed neck. I figured I had to say something about that this week.

Myth Understanding

… some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge…

— Galadriel, from the Walsh, Boyens, and Jackson screenplay of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Last week, I discussed the rift that exists in Western society between our culture and our dominant religions. The rift mat­ters, because it means the those religions can’t perform the functions in our society that a religion historically performed. This has given rise to a misunderstanding of the purpose of reli­gion, and a misuse of religion within our national conversation.