Sylvia Rose
Saffron - Most Precious Ancient Spice
Saffron is the most precious spice of the ancient world. It comes from the bright red stigma and stiles, or threads, of the saffron...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 123 min read
Ninkarrak: Ancient Medicine Goddess
A divine physician, Ninkarrak is known as a healer as well as a protective goddess inflicting disease upon the enemies of her patron...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 113 min read
Epic of Erra - Plague God of Babylon
Erra (Irra) is an Akkadian plague god dating back to the time of Sargon the Great in the c. 2400 BCE. Erra holds court for centuries....
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 104 min read
Byblos, Vibrant Port City - Bronze Age
A fascinating center of commerce in the Bronze Age, Byblos has been sporadically inhabited since c. 8800 BCE and continuously since 5000...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 103 min read
Sherden Sea Peoples in Ancient Egypt
While the mysterious Sea Peoples ransack the Mediterranean c. 1200, they give little sign of their identity and seem to appear out of...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 104 min read
Salt Trade - the Most Precious Mineral
Salt is an essential mineral of life. In food it stimulates taste and is among the oldest preservation methods. Part of the human taste...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 94 min read
Eileithyia: Birth Goddess of Ancient Greece
Eileithyia (Ilithyia) is an ancient Greek goddess of birth, the process of childbirth and midwifery. She can be one goddess, or several....
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 95 min read
Terramare Culture - Bronze Age Italy
The Terramare (Terramara) culture of Bronze Age Italy develops in the fertile black earth of the Po Valley c. 1700 - 1150 BCE. The term...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 64 min read
Pomegranate - Food of the Ancients
Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is one of the seven ancient foods of the southern Mediterranean. Figs are also part of the group. Read:...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 63 min read
Despoina - Goddess of the Mysteries
Her home is Arcadia, a pastoral idyllic land of cypress and sunshine. Her father Poseidon, is lord of groundwater, earthquakes and...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 54 min read
Arcadia - Greek Lands of Ancient Gods
Arcadia is a central pastoral region on the Peloponnese peninsula of southern Greece. It's equated with idyllic Arcadia, a paradise of...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 55 min read
Mythology: Gods of Mycenean Greece
The early Mycenean pantheon includes now familiar deities such as Poseidon, who evolves as a god of the underworld, and Demeter and...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 45 min read
Rise of the Phoenicians - Early Years
The Phoenicians rise from semi-nomadic hunter gatherers who settle the coasts of today's Lebanon to become the foremost merchant and...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 44 min read
Assyrians: Reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I
Tukulti-Ninurta I (r. 1243 - 1207 BCE) rules during the Middle Assyrian Empire. His father Shalmaneser I has subdued the Hurrian Empire...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 33 min read
Aruru - Violent Vegetation Goddess
Aruru is a Goddess of vegetation, portrayed with a nasty yen for violence. Her major cult centers are Sumerian sites Adab (Bismaya), Kesh...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 23 min read
Kassite Empire: Rise of the Kassites
Babylonia comes under control of the Kassite Empire in the aftermath of the 1531 BCE sack of Babylon by the Hittites to the north. The...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 23 min read
Lahar: Flock & Sheep Pastoral Goddess
Lahar is a pastoral goddess of sheep, flocks and wool in ancient Mesopotamia. Throughout the year various deities are invoked to keep...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 13 min read
Apkallu - Seven Sages of Mesopotamia
When the gods come into being in Mesopotamia, they create the Igigi to act as their servants because they find work too exhausting. As...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 13 min read
Shumugan - God of Donkeys & Mules
Shumugan (Šumugan, Šamagan, Šumuqan, Šakkan) is an ancient Syrian and Mesopotamian god associated with animals. He's a patron of...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 13 min read
Lord Rodent (Ninkilim) Sumerian Pest God
Ninkilim is a Sumerian god of wild animals. His name means Lord Rodent. He's especially connected to rats, mice and other vermin, insect...
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