The village of Stanton Drew in north Somerset is host to a remarkable group of ancient monuments which together comprise the third largest collection of standing stones in England. Its Great Circle, the largest of three stone circles, exceeds the dimensions of Stonehenge. Recent archaeology has revealed that a substantial woodhenge once occupied the site, underlining its importance as a major ritual centre of the Neolithic age. Gordon Strong, a regular lecturer on the subject, has spent many years exploring this fascinating site on multiple levels. In this well illustrated book he presents archaeological detail, local folklore and the views of various commentators from 18th century antiquarians to dowsers, discussing mythology, mediumship and earth energies. His insights are gleaned from his long love-affair with the site, and offer the visitor some clues for making their own inner connection to this unique monument which still retains its ancient magic.

This book aims to give students an introduction to the religious and social world of ancient Israel. It consists of two parts. The first explores the major religious offices mentioned in the Old Testament, including prophets, priests, sages and kings. As well as considering what these key people said and did, the author traces the process someone might have gone through to become recognised as a prophet, priest or sage, and where you would have had to go in ancient Israel if you wanted to locate someone who held one of these offices. In the second part the focus is on the religious beliefs and practices of the "common" people as this was the group that made up the vast majority of ancient Israel's population.

The Breton lai is a narrative poem, usually accompanied by music, that appeared in France about the middle of the 12th century, carried by travelling musicians and storytellers called jongleurs. What is important about them is that they contain a great deal of faery and supernatural lore deriving from Celtic myth, legend and folktale. This collection of twelve tales focuses on faery lore in the lai tradition. Nine are taken from anonymous medieval jongleur sources; the other three are from the more courtly tales collected by Marie de France in the late 12th century. Gareth Knight, a scholar of medieval French as well as an established author on esoteric faery lore, provides a vivid and lively translation of each lai along with a commentary which takes a perspective both historic and esoteric.

Who are the "Gemini Twins?" Where did Sagittarius come from? Why would anyone ever choose a "Compass" as a constellation? Many people have read and learned a great deal about the Constellations, and a few have an idea of what each of the 88 groups of stars represent. But, how many know the legends behind the celestial objects that loom over head? This book teaches you the legends behind the myths. The reader will learn the true stories of the stars.

Meditations ("thoughts/writings addressed to himself") is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161-180 CE, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations in "highly-educated" Koine Greek as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. It is possible that large portions of the work were written at Sirmium, where he spent much time planning military campaigns from 170 to 180. Some of it was written while he was positioned at Aquincum on campaign in Pannonia, because internal notes tell us that the second book was written when he was campaigning against the Quadi on the river Granova (modern-day Hron) and the third book was written at Carnuntum. It is not clear that he ever intended the writings to be published, so the title Meditations is but one of several commonly assigned to the collection. These writings take the form of quotations varying in length from one sentence to long paragraphs. His stoic ideas often involve avoiding indulgence in sensory affections, a skill which, he says, will free a man from the pains and pleasures of the material world. He claims that the only way a man can be harmed by others is to allow his reaction to overpower him. An order or logos permeates existence. Rationality and clear-mindedness allow one to live in harmony with the logos. This allows one to rise above faulty perceptions of "good" and "bad." (wikipedia.org)

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Les etudes presentees dans ce volume sont basees sur les cours et conferences d'histoire et d'archeologie bibliques donnes par l'auteur de 1986 a 2020. La bibliographie de ces annees figure au debut du volume, faisant suite a celle des annees 1958-1995, parue dans la meme serie, OLA 65. Le premier chapitre presente les rapports de l'Egypte antique avec Canaan, Israel et Juda durant deux millenaires, divises selon les periodes de l'histoire egyptienne qui font decouvrir des ancetres des tribus israelites en Cisjordanie, Transjordanie et au Nord de la Peninsule Sinaitique, bien avant les donnees bibliques. Par exemple, la Maison de Joseph, connue plus tard comme Ephraim, apparait des les XIXe et XVIIIe siecles av.n.e., tout comme la tribu de Simeon, dans les Textes d'Execration du Moyen Empire, diriges contre des princes et des tribus dont on pouvait craindre l'inimitie. Jerusalem est alors mentionnee quatre fois. Chapitre II compare divers aspects du droit biblique au droit de l'antique Mesopotamie. Le droit familial vient notamment en ligne de compte avec l'avortement, la sodomie, l'inceste, l'adultere. Des exemples de lois cultuelles sont presentes ensuite et un paragraphe de l'ouvrage de Maimonide, "Le guide des Egares", est analyse. Chapitre III traite ensuite du mariage, divorce et levirat en se basant sur la legislation biblique et sur les documents de l'epoque greco-romaine trouves a Qumran et dans le Desert de Juda. Chapitre IV examine les actes de mariage judeo-arameens d'Elephantine, provenant de la colonie militaire du Ve siecle av.n.e., ou nombre de documents bien conserves ont ete retrouves. Le developpement de l'ideologie royale est presente au Chapitre V depuis les cas exceptionnels de la divinite du roi au Ps. 45,7 et Ez. 28 jusqu'au choix divin de la dynastie de David et le messianisme. Le chapitre suivant traite de la situation sociale de l'esclave qui peut etre tres differente selon son sexe, sa nationalite ou la periode ou il vivait. Le prophetisme sous ses differents aspects est examine au Chapitre VII. Il ne s'agit pas d'une revue des ecrits prophetiques de la Bible, mais du prophete vu par l'historien. Chapitre VIII traite en particulier de l'histoire quelque peu compliquee des tribus de Transjordanie, tandis que Chapitre IX dresse une breve histoire des Edomites, vivant au sud de Juda. L'histoire generale d'Israel et de Juda n'est pas traitee directement dans ce volume, car elle a fait l'objet des deux ouvrages recents de la meme serie, OLA 275 et OLA 287.

If you only Read one Book By Melvin Abercrombie Author of three Books under Trafford Publishing and two other Books here at Amazon. The One Book Church's and Most Religion's do not want you to read You can divide everyone in two categories, Atheist and Creationist where are You at? [email protected]

African Origin of Biological Psychiatry produces data pertaining to the diagnosis of genetic predispositions of historical Blackness. World experts in science have always clashed in debating the origin of man however, a Geneticist from the University of California in Berkeley, using gene analysis, recently asserted that, "all modern races derived from an African Woman." As far as biochemist is concerned, the genetic evidence for evolution of modern people is so conclusive that the counter arguments have no validity. For most Americans and African Americans, the study of origins has been approached from a Eurocentric worldview. The effect of this worldview on African Americans has been the development of mental slavery. King's research brings provisions that may challenge the very existence of biological racism that European science established to control behavior. His research is in rhythm with Neely Fuller Jr's views on African American priorities

Joseph Campbell (1904-1988) was one of the most well-known and popular scholars of myth and comparative religion of the twentieth century. His work, however, has never fully received the same amount of scholarly interest and critical reflection that some of his contemporaries have received. In this book, based on extensive research in the Joseph Campbell Archive in Santa Barbara, Ritske Rensma shows that reflecting on C.G. Jung's influence on Campbell greatly furthers our understanding of these ideas, and that once this goal is achieved it becomes obvious that Campbell was a scholar whose ideas are still of significance today. Following Jung's lead, Campbell put great emphasis on the innate structures of the mind, an approach which pre-echoes the current 'evolutionary turn' in fields such as cognitive theory, psychology, psychiatry and neurobiology. This study will therefore not just be of interest to students and scholars interested in psychological approaches to the study of religion as well as Jung and Campbell, but also to those with an interest in recent developments in the above-mentioned fields

The two great Persian invasions of Greece, in 490 and 480-79 B.C., both repulsed by the Greeks, provide our best opportunity for understanding the interplay of religion and history in ancient Greece. Using the Histories of Herodotus as well as other historical and archaeological sources, Jon Mikalson shows how the Greeks practiced their religion at this pivotal moment in their history. In the period of the invasions and the years immediately after, the Greeks - internationally, state by state, and sometimes individually - turned to their deities, using religious practices to influence, understand, and commemorate events that were threatening their very existence. Greeks prayed and sacrificed; made and fulfilled vows to the gods; consulted oracles; interpreted omens and dreams; created cults, sanctuaries, and festivals; and offered dozens of dedications to their gods and heroes - all in relation to known historical events. By portraying the human situations and historical circumstances in which Greeks practiced their religion, Mikalson advances our knowledge of the role of religion in fifth-century Greece and reveals a religious dimension of the Persian Wars that has been previously overlooked. The two great Persian invasions of Greece, in 490 and 480-79 B.C., both repulsed by the Greeks, provide our best opportunity for understanding the interplay of religion and history in ancient Greece. By showing how the Greeks practiced their religion at this pivotal moment in their history, Jon Mikalson reveals a religious dimension of the Persian Wars that has been previously overlooked.

Volume One Contains The Iron Period To The End Of The Thirteenth Century.

Aradia is perhaps the first 20th century text of Witchcraft revival. It is repeatedly cited as being profoundly influential to the development of Wicca. The text corroborates the thesis of Margaret Murray that early modern and Renaissance witchcraft represented a survival of ancient pagan beliefs, The Charge of the Goddess, an important piece of liturgy used in Wiccan rituals, it was inspired by Aradia's speech in the first chapter of the book. Parts of the speech appeared in an early version of Gardnerian Wicca ritual.Wilder Publications is a green publisher. All of our books are printed to order. This reduces waste and helps us keep prices low while greatly reducing our impact on the environment.

Immortal Jaguar is Hugh Fox's account of his experiences with the inner worlds and ancient powers unleashed by his use of traditional South American spiritual hallucinogenics. After consuming psychoactive plants in Peru he is gripped by visionary experiences and finds the dazzling magical world of the Immortals opening up, a whirl of ancient knowledge pouring through his consciousness. On his return to academic life in the US he finds that having a shamanic gift which he is unable to switch off is something of a dangerous liability. Part memoir, part archaeology, this fusion of visions and ideas into fictional narrative is among the most excitingly readable presentations of the spiritual underworld of the Andes and its expression through sacred hallucinogens. The vision extends outward across the ancient world through language and legend, all leading to a voyage to the house of the Sun-King - Tiawanaku in Bolivia. Fox, a major authority on the Pre-Columbian Americas, and a true visionary to boot, makes a compelling case for the connection of disparate myths and cultures around the world in deepest antiquity.

"There is something of a paradox about our access to ancient Greek religion. We know too much, and too little. The materials that bear on it far outreach an individual's capacity to assimilate: so many casual allusions in so many literary texts over more than a millennium, so many direct or indirect references in so many inscriptions from so many places in the Greek world, such an overwhelming abundance of physical remains. But genuinely revealing evidence does not often cluster coherently enough to create a vivid sense of the religious realities of a particular time and place. Amid a vast archipelago of scattered islets of information, only a few are of a size to be habitable." from the Preface

In On Greek Religion, Robert Parker offers a provocative and wide-ranging entree into the world of ancient Greek religion, focusing especially on the interpretive challenge of studying a religious system that in many ways remains desperately alien from the vantage point of the twenty-first century. One of the world's leading authorities on ancient Greek religion, Parker raises fundamental methodological questions about the study of this vast subject. Given the abundance of evidence we now have about the nature and practice of religion among the ancient Greeks including literary, historical, and archaeological sources how can we best exploit that evidence and agree on the central underlying issues? Is it possible to develop a larger, "unified" theoretical framework that allows for coherent discussions among archaeologists, anthropologists, literary scholars, and historians?

In seven thematic chapters, Parker focuses on key themes in Greek religion: the epistemological basis of Greek religion; the relation of ritual to belief; theories of sacrifice; the nature of gods and heroes; the meaning of rituals, festivals, and feasts; and the absence of religious authority. Ranging across the archaic, classical, and Hellenistic periods, he draws on multiple disciplines both within and outside classical studies. He also remains sensitive to varieties of Greek religious experience. Also included are five appendixes in which Parker applies his innovative methodological approach to particular cases, such as the acceptance of new gods and the consultation of oracles. On Greek Religion will stir debate for its bold questioning of disciplinary norms and for offering scholars and students new points of departure for future research."

Published in 1990 under the title "Los mitos del tlacuache," this is the first major theoretical study of Mesoamerican mythology by one of the foremost scholars of Aztec ideology. Using the myth cycle of the opossum and the theft of fire from the gods as a touchstone, L pez Austin constructs a definition of myth that pertains to all of Mesoamerican culture, challenging the notion that to be relevant such studies must occur within a specific culture.

Shown here is that much of modern mythology has ancient roots, despite syncretism with Christianity, and can be used to elucidate the pre-Columbian world view. Analysis of pre-Columbian myths can also be used to understand current indigenous myths. Subtopics include the hero and his place in the Mesoamerican pantheon, divine space and human space, mythic event clusters, myth as truth, and the fusion of myth and history.

This book presents a unique description of the Mesoamerican world view for students of comparative religion, history of religion, folklore, ethnology, and anthropology.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.