Ancient Cultures

A Chinese book from 850 C.E., called Classified Essentials of the Mysterious Tao of the True Origin of Things, warns the reader that if sulphur, realgar and saltpetre are heated with honey, they produce smoke and flames. Thus begins the history of artificially made fire and, eventually, fireworks.

Au début de l'histoire de l'humanité, les dieux tout comme les cultes variaient d'une communauté à l'autre. Les premiers peuples chassés par la force de leur territoire ont craint que des divinités étrangères ou ennemies ne puissent les protéger. Des chefs ont alors fondé une nouvelle religion. Certains d'entre eux se sont basés sur des textes anciens et d'autres ont affirmé avoir eu des révélations.

Sex. Drugs. Loud music. Wild costumes. Dazzling light shows. These words can all describe a great rock concert or a hot dance club, but they were also part and parcel of the ancient cultural phenomenon known as the "Mystery religions". In this book, author Christopher Knowles shows how the long-dead Mystery religions got a secular reincarnation when a new musical form called rock 'n' roll burst onto the scene.

In this book in praise of wait times, award-winning author Jason Farman passionately argues that the delay between call and answer has always been an important part of the message. Traveling backward from our current era of Twitter and texts, Farman describes how societies have worked to eliminate waiting in communication and how they have interpreted those times' meanings. And in a rebuttal to the demand for instant communication, Farman makes a powerful case for why good things can come to those who wait.

Jim Weiss narrates thrilling episodes from the history and culture of ancient Greece, including the Olympics, the 300 Spartans, and the wisdom of Socrates. In these vivid, true stories, Jim takes you back 25 centuries to Golden Age Greece.

Think you can separate out true trivia from fiction? Get ready for the ultimate trivia thrill with 2,500 tricky tidbits designed to test your ability to spot fake facts. Separate the tall tales from the truth with chapters on:- Myths & Legends- Wacky Words & Their Meanings- Famous Artwork- Statistical Trends- Quotes & Speeches- Board, Card, & Video Games- and More!

Make no mistake, the sacred gods are active. The African continent is home to ancestors, sacred deities, and diverse cultures. Among them is the Yoruba tradition, one of Africa’s most powerful societies. Standing the test of time and thriving against extinction, the Yoruba culture is one of the few African cultures that have crossed the vast oceans and continue to thrive today. Devotees spend their lives under the sacred guiding influence of the gods and are open to sharing the secrets of Orisha with those who seek knowledge.

You’d never believe it, but the mummies from horror movies are real. Unwrap the secrets of historic mummies like King Tut and Princess Amen Ra.

70 million years ago in what will one day become Mongolia, a successor to Velociraptor faces struggle after struggle. Times have grown cold and her eggs need constant care, and constant guard. How does a wolf sized raptor survive in the shadows of giants? How does she adapt to changing climates or circumstance? And what happens when a threat from her own past finds her new home?

For thousands of years, the notion of dragons has struck fear in the hearts of men and women all over the world. The ancient Egyptians believed there was a dragon of darkness that attacked the sun god each day, and in Norway people thought that a dragon gnawed at the roots of the tree that sustained all life on Earth. Around the globe, dragons have been depicted as everything from massive, winged, fire-breathing creatures to beasts sporting a camel’s head, deer’s horns, rabbit’s eyes, and eagle’s claws! Dragons might hoard treasure in caves, or they might be responsible for floods and the death of livestock.

In 1925, James Henry Breasted sent a team of archaeologists to the Holy Land to excavate the ancient site of Megiddo - Armageddon in the New Testament. Their excavations made headlines around the world and shed light on one of the most legendary cities of biblical times. Digging Up Armageddon brings to life one of the most important archaeological expeditions ever undertaken, describing the site and what was found there, and providing an up-close look at the internal workings of a dig in the early years of biblical archaeology.

Roma Victrix. The Republic of Rome is on a relentless march to create an empire - an empire built on the backs of the conquered, brought back to Rome as slaves. Attia was once destined to rule as the queen and swordmaiden of Thrace, the greatest warrior kingdom the world had seen since Sparta. Now she is a slave, given to Xanthus, the Champion of Rome, as a sign of his master’s favor.

Tag is a medical slave, doomed to spend his life healing his master's injured gladiators. But his warrior's heart yearns to fight in the gladiator ring himself and earn enough money to win his freedom. Lucia is the daughter of Tag's owner, doomed by her father's greed to marry a much older Roman man. But she loves studying the natural world around her home in Pompeii, and lately she's been noticing some odd occurrences in the landscape: small lakes disappearing; a sulfurous smell in the air...

Ancient Egypt, сivilizаtiоn in nоrthеаѕtеrn Afriса thаt dates from the 4th millеnnium BCE. Itѕ mаnу асhiеvеmеntѕ, preserved in its art аnd mоnumеntѕ, hоld a fascination thаt continues to grоw as аrсhаеоlоgiсаl finds expose its ѕесrеtѕ. This book fосuѕеѕ оn Egурt from itѕ prehistory thrоugh itѕ unifiсаtiоn undеr Mеnеѕ (Nаrmеr) in thе 3rd millennium BCE - sometimes uѕеd аѕ a reference point for Egурt’ѕ оrigin - аnd up tо the Islamic соnԛuеѕt in thе 7th сеnturу CE.

New marine archaeological evidence has revealed the remains of a large land mass to the north of Britain that hosted an advanced civilization 1,000 years before the recognized “first” civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, or India. Remembered in Celtic legends as Tu-lay, and referred to by geologists as Doggerland or Fairland, this civilization began at least as early as 4000 BC but was ultimately destroyed by rising sea levels, huge tsunamis, and a terrible viral epidemic released from melting permafrost during a cataclysmic period of global warming.

Mars has been a source of fascination and speculation ever since the ancient Egyptians observed its blood-red hue and named it for their god of war and plague. But it wasn't until the 19th century when "canals" were observed on the surface of the Red Planet, suggesting the presence of water, that scientists, novelists, filmmakers, and entrepreneurs became obsessed with the question of whether there's life on Mars. The Big Book of Mars is the most comprehensive look at our relationship with Mars - yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Este livro lança um olhar sobre a história bíblica, mas com um foco inovador: a partir dos povos antigos que interagiram com o Povo de Deus. Eles, os "outros" das narrativas bíblicas–mesopotâmicos, egípcios, cananeus, persas, gregos e romanos–são o tema central desta obra.

When we think of Ancient Egypt, we picture movies with mazes, pyramids, traps, mummies, and symbols. And although some of these things were definitely part of it, there is so much more to this ancient civilization. Ancient Egypt was a North African society that grew in the lower banks of the Nile River, in what's now the nation of Egypt. Let’s explore some of the most important features of that society today, and try to grasp what transpired in the culture, the thoughts, the problems, and the development of the Egyptian region more than 5,000 years ago.

In a rich tale of adventure, eight cousins sneak through forbidden treehouse doors only to discover that they are separated from each other and lost in strange worlds. In their quests to return home, they must unravel mysteries, escape snares and villains, find one another, and search for the elusive Oracle.

Flavia, Jonathan, Lupus, and Nubia - friends and detectives - sail to the Bay of Naples to spend the summer with Flavia's uncle, who lives near Pompeii. There they uncover a riddle that may lead them to a great treasure. Meanwhile, tremors shake the ground, animals behave strangely, and people dream of impending doom. One of the worst natural disasters of all time is about to happen: the eruption of Mount Vesuvius!