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The Caucasus Mountains are an alpine range curving from ancient Colchis (Georgia), up between the Black and Caspian Seas. In the north the Caucasus extend to the Pontic-Caspian Steppe, where horses are first domesticated c. 3500 BCE. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure See also: Stone Age Botai - First Horse People Pontic Mountains: the Black Sea Alps Zagros Mountains - the Way to Kur Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The term Caucasus applies to the mountains, as well as Ciscaucasia and Transcaucasia. Ciscaucasia borders on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia, is a geographical region on the border of Europe and Asia. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, also known as the Caucasian States. The territory includes the south Caucasian or lesser Caucasus mountains. See also: Horse in Dreams - Meaning of Horses Amazons - Warrior Women History & Myth Colchis - Bronze Age on the Black Sea Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Located in the North Caucasus, Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Russia and Europe. It's in the western part of the North Caucasus. The dormant volcano rises 5,642 m (18,510 ft) above sea level. Elbrus has two summits, both volcanic domes. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure On clear days the Caspian sea can be seen from Mount Elbrus. Circassians call the peak Uash-ha Makhua, meaning mountain of happiness. The name Mingi Taw used by some indigenous groups means "Eternal Mountain" in Turkic languages. See also: Gargari: Men of the Amazon Warriors Alp or Alps: Elves & Alpine Mountains Lammašaga: Sumerian Angel Goddess Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Up to 500 million ya the Caucasus ranges and the Caspian Sea, like the Pontic regions, form part of the mother ocean Tethys. In the early-mid Cenozoic, c. 66 million ya, the Indian, African, Australian and Arabian tectonic plates shift north to collide with the Eurasian plate. The collision causes upthrust of the Alpide belt, creating European Alps, Himalayas, Zagros, Caucasian and Ural Mountains. Tectonic plates are crushed and subducted. Tethys forms the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Paratethys mega-lake covering most of Europe. See also: Abzu - Primal Waters of Creation Lotan - Chaos Sea Dragon of Ugarit Kulullu - Fish Man Monster of Tiamat Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Seas including the Black Sea, Caspian and Aral are thought to be crustal remains of the Paratethys. The waters are home to massive mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, sharks, thousands of species of ammonites, bivalves, and fish both living and extinct such as pycnodonts. In an event called the Khersonian crisis near the end of the Miocene period, sudden changes in environmental factors and sea levels occur, causing extinction of unique fish and other sea life. Today fossils of prehistoric sea creatures are found in the mountains. See also: Scorpion Men of Babylonia Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Wine God Liber: Liberty & Liberal Libation Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Volcanoes erupt at the margins of the Anatolian plateau. In the south Caucasus volcanic activity is especially intense in the Armenian Highlands east of the Black Sea. Volcanic mountains rise around Lake Van and in Van province. Greater Ararat is the highest peak in Turkey, at an elevation of 5137 m (16,854 ft). Also in Van province are Tendurek, and Nemrut, apparently named after King Nimrod who rules in the Bronze Age c. 2100 BCE. Nimrod, King of Akkad, is grandson of Sargon the Great. See also: Chamois - Alpine Wild Nature & Lore Fänggen (Fangga): Man-Eaters of Tyrol Baba Yaga - Slavic Forest Witch Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Other major volcanoes of the Caucasus include Mt. Kazbek, Shavnabada and Mount Khabarjina (aka Kabardzhin) in Georgia. Mount Aragats is an isolated four-peaked volcano in Armenia. Implements of obsidian, or volcanic glass, are found dating to c. 4000 BCE. The volcanic zone extends over a large area from southern Georgia into Armenia and southwestern Azerbaijan. Geologic features include volcanic plateaus, lava flows, volcanic lakes and volcanic cones. The northern silk roads cross the Greater Caucasus to the sea. See also: Steppe Trade Routes: Before the Silk Road Obsidian: Volcanic Black Glass of Gods Ancient Mesopotamian Cities - Uruk Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The area of the Caucasus is a diversity of cultures, languages and climates. The mountains attract castle-builders and herders alike. Merchants use the treacherous mountain passes to bring wares, news and trappings of civilization to the known world. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure South slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains support beech, oak, maple and ash forests. The south-western slopes are mixed Colchian forests. Spruce, fir and beech predominate at higher elevations. See also: Bronze Age Europe - the Amber Roads Rise of Pan: Fertility Goat God Péh₂usōn Arcadia - Greek Lands of Ancient Gods Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Tusheti shepherds of Georgia have been herding livestock to seasonal grazing grounds, a for over 10,000 years. This type of semi-nomadic pastoralism, or transhumance, is still practiced today in many parts of the world. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries The last volcanic eruptions in Turkey are Mount Tendürek (Turkish: Tendürek Dağı) in 1855 and nearby Ararat in 1840 CE. In the Hebrew Bible, 7th century BCE, Ararat is the mountain where Noah's Ark comes to rest after a great flood. This is however disputed. See also: Volcanic Wipeout - 1600 BCE Eruption of Thera Mythic Fire Gods - Vulkan of Germania Kashka - Mountain Raiders of Anatolia Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The watershed along the Greater Caucasus range is considered a dividing line between Europe and SW Asia. On peripheries of Turkey, Iran and Russia, the Caucasus region has long been an arena for political, military, religious, and cultural rivalries and expansionism. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures In history, the Caucasus is part of Iran. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire conquers the territory from Qajar Iran. This sets off a series of revolts and hostile actions against the Russians. See also: Great Women Artists - Käthe Kollwitz Elp: Bronze Age Militant Cattle Culture Silver - Queen of Precious Metals Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In the Caucasian village of Galgai-Yurt, resistance is significant enough for the Russian empire to send several punitive expeditions in the the 19th century. One significant battle immortalizes the conflict in the above 1840 painting by Mikhail Lermontov. In anthropological history, the territory of the Caucasus region is inhabited by Homo erectus since the Paleolithic Era. Hominini fossils dating back 1.8 million years are uncovered at the Dmanisi archaeological site in Georgia. See also: Oldest Cattle Cult 6000 BCE - Arabia Neolithic Skull Cults & Ritual Skulls Çatalhöyük (Catalhoyuk) Neolithic Anatolia Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The site yields the earliest undisputed proof of early humans outside the African continent. The five skulls at Dmanisi are the oldest hominin remains ever found outside Africa. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Between 4000 - 2000 BCE the Neolithic / Bronze Age Kura-Araxes culture covers a vast area of modern-day territories including part of the S. Caucasus, NW Iran, NE Caucasus, and as far east as Syria. The name comes from the Kura and Araxes river valleys. See also: Gobekli Tepe - Neolithic Life Anatolia Ancient Cultures: Yamnaya Steppe People Ancient Grains: Wheat, Barley, Millet, Rice Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle There's an overlap of the Kura-Araxes and Mesopotamian Uruk cultures. Interactions may go back to the Middle Uruk period (4000 - 3100 BCE). Kura-Araxes are also in contact with Anatolian cultures. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Economy of the Kura-Araxes revolves around farming and breeding of livestock, especially sheep and cattle, supplemented by hunting and fishing. The people grow grain and cultivate fruit trees. Implements to make flour are found during excavations. See also: Einkorn Wheat - First Domestic Crops Ephedra - Oldest Medical Stimulant Herb Ancient Deities: Proto Indo European Gods Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books They raise cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, and later, horses. Before the Kura-Araxes period, horse bones were not found in Transcaucasia. Beginning about 3300 BCE they're common, showing signs of horse domestication. Metal working begins by 3000 BCE. Landscape of the Caucasus Mountains changes according to height above sea level and proximity to major water bodies. Environments range from from subtropical lowland marshes and forests to glaciers and highland semideserts, steppes, and alpine meadows in the south. See also: Hippomancy: Sacred Horse Divination Pistachio: Turpentine, Resin & Nuts Soap & Medicine Herb of Ancients Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books According to Pliny, the name Caucasus comes from a Scythian term, Croucasis, meaning 'shimmering with snow'. Parts of the Caucasus mountains are known for heavy snowfall. Historically, the southern mountains are mined for copper, arsenic and antimony. Territories bordering the Caspian Sea in the northern hills of the Greater Caucasus are the fabled place of origin for the warrior women Amazons. They're in Greece in the 2nd century BCE, and thought to come from Thracian or Scythian lands northwest of the Black Sea. See also: Copper: Ruddy Metal of Myth & Magic Erinyes - Vengeful Women of Ancient Greece Mythology: Gods of Mycenean Greece Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The controversial Amazon culture is a society of women only, who are said to meet with the Gargareans (Gargari), a male-only society, to have sex for reproduction purposes. In legend the Amazons live near the Gargari, at the west coast of the Caspian Sea. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure The Amazons are documented at the Black Sea by 9th century BCE, though they appear in local legend before that. They feature in Homer's account of the c. 1200 BCE Trojan War. See also: Stymphalian Birds & Greek Heroics Mythic Fire Gods: Hephaestus of the Greek Bosporus: Black Sea Nature & Greek Myth Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Similarly the Amazons appear in the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts, thought to be set slightly early c. 1300 BCE. They're connected with the Isle of Ares or Aretias Island in the Black Sea, today identified as Giresun Island, with ruins dating back to c. 2000 BCE. See also: Mad Honey - What's the Buzz? Lukka: Bronze Age Warrior Sea People German Myth: Lindwyrm, Mare & Pig Demons Back to Top

Gargareans or Gargari are an ancient culture of men in the north Caucasus Mountains near the Caspian Sea. On the south Black Sea coast, Amazons create a homeland. Once a year, Amazons and Gargari interact to have children. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure See also: Amazons - Warrior Women History & Myth Stymphalian Birds & Greek Heroics Mythology: Gods of Mycenean Greece Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The Amazons appear in Greece by c. 13th century BCE. A fierce tribe of female warriors, they're skilled in arts of combat, horse riding and archery. By the 9th century BCE the Amazon realm is thought to center around modern day Terme, Turkey. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Men are not permitted in Amazon society. Similarly Gargari have an all-male culture. Ancient Greek geographer Strabo places the Gargareans in the northern foothills of the Caucasus. Several scholars equate them with the Galgaï, historic early inhabitants of the region. See also: Black Sea: Stone Age & Early History Ancient Grains: Wheat, Barley, Millet, Rice Yahweh: Warrior Origins, Name & Lore Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Galgai-Yurt is a former village (khutor) in the area of modern day Valerik in Chechen Republic, Russia. Galgai-Yurt combines the words Ghalghaï, the self-name of the Ingush people, and yurt, meaning "village" in Vainakh languages. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure In the 4th-3rd millennium BCE in the North Caucasus, cultures of the early Bronze Age are growing. Groups include the Maykop (3700 - 3000 BCE) and Kura–Araxes (c. 4000 - 2000 BCE). See also: Neolithic Skull Cults & Ritual Skulls Women of the Wild Hunt: Holle, Diana, Frigg Pontic Mountains: the Black Sea Alps Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The territory of Ingushetia is located at their intersection. Monuments and artifacts date to the Early Bronze Age. Domestication of horses begins here with the Stone Age Botai. In c. 3300 - 3000 BCE the Yamnaya Steppe People are living on the Pontic-Caspian plain. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Several genetically linked cultures are created in the Middle Bronze Age, known as the North Caucasian Cultural and Historical Community. From this forms the ancient culture of the North Caucasian indigenous peoples, such as the Koban and Ghalghai. See also: Ancient Cultures: Yamnaya Steppe People Stone Age Botai - First Horse People Colchis - Bronze Age on the Black Sea Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Chronologically the Koban culture dates from c. 12th-4th century BCE. By 500 BCE, Koban tribes unite in a confederation. Ancient sources call the group Malkh (Makhli, Makhelonia) or Dzurdzuketi. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Information about the village of Galgai-Yurt is sparse until the 19th century. During his expedition in the Caucasus mountains in the 1830s, lieutenant-general Johann Blaramberg mentions Galgai-Yurt as Galga situated on the river Valerik. See also: Chaoskampf: Order & Chaos Battle Out Elixir of Life: Alchemy & the Emperor Hippomancy: Sacred Horse Divination Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In Chechen Valerik means "river of the dead". In 1833, a punitive expedition by the Russian Empire attacks the "unruly" village Galgai-Yurt. Soon after, the village is razed in another punitive expedition. The Battle of the Valerik River on 11 July 1840 was fought as part of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. The combatants are the Russian Empire and North Caucasian rebel mountaineers. See also: Kashka - Mountain Raiders of Anatolia Warrior Queen: Kriemhild of the Burgundians Wine God Liber: Liberty & Liberal Libation Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In 1847, a third punitive expedition of the Russian Empire descends on Galgai-Yurt. The Empire's oppressive tactics are all connected to the rebellion against Russian conquest by strongly independent native people. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Attempts at control by Russian forces continue through World War II. During the war the area is subject to widescale genocide and relocation. See also: Uluburun - Bronze Age Shipwreck Alchemy: Science, Philosophy, Magic Elderberry Tree: Germanic Nature Lore Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The village is recorded inhabited in official documents from 1848, 1856 and 1859. In 1859, military historian Adolf Berge in his work Chechenya and Chechens mentions Galgai-Yurt as part of the village Valerik. He says Galgai-Yurt exists up until 1846. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure According to Moscow Prof Krupnov, accuracy of the location of the Gargari given by Strabo in Galga-chuv (Ingushetia) is confirmed by archaeologic, anthropologic and ethnographic data. Gaius Plinius Secundus also locates them there, but calls them Gegar. See also: Alum: Ancient Tanning & Dyeing Salts Wild Women and Winter Tales Germanic Mythology - Brook Horses Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The Amazons are thought to originate from the same area, arriving first in Aegean Greece and moving to the later Pontus at the Black Sea. Early migrations from the Pontic-Caspian steppes also include a group who become the Mycenaean Greeks. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Once a year, the Amazons and Gargari get together. Where they meet is not known. They're thought to be neighbors in the past. Now a sea's between them. After sex, male babies born of the union are returned to their fathers. Girls are raised by their mothers the Amazon way. See also: Šassūrātu (Sassuratu): Deific Midwives Asherah: Goddess of Childbirth & Fertility Eileithyia: Birth Goddess of Ancient Greece Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The Gargari bring up their sons as warriors, teaching them to ride horses, hunt and use weapons such as bow and arrow, spear and sling. Warrior skills are similar to those of the Amazons, who also have a strong horse culture. See also: Khet, the Body: Death Rites of Ancient Egypt Natron - Ancient Embalming & Household Salts Horse in Dreams - Meaning of Horses Back to Top

The Bosporus Strait has seen human footprints from Paleolithic times. As the only feed into the Black Sea from the Mediterranean, the Bosporus is part of the reason the Black Sea is anoxic. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure See also: Black Sea: Stone Age & Early History Sinope: Poison, Honey, Greeks & Clay Ancient Grains: Wheat, Barley, Millet, Rice Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Much of the Black Sea is deprived of oxygen due to poor water mixing. The top water layer is able to sustain life. Black Sea fauna includes c. 200 species of fish such as tuna, anchovy, sharks, rays, mackerel and sturgeon; well as bottlenose dolphins and 18 species of crab. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures The Bosporus is a natural strait. In Istanbul, Turkey, it connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara leading to the Mediterranean. The Bosporus is a continental boundary between Asia and Europe. It's the world's narrowest strait used for international navigation. Mad Honey - What's the Buzz? Lukka: Bronze Age Warrior Sea People Arcadia - Greek Lands of Ancient Gods Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle At one time the Black Sea is freshwater, fed by rivers and rain. A natural formation blocks water from the salty Mediterranean. About 5500 BCE, the dam breaks and salt water floods into the Black Sea. It's thought to be part of overall glacial melt and movement which is described as a huge flood in many cultures. About this time is the warmest of the post-glacial temperatures. See also: Flooding of the Nile - Nature & Myth Terramare Culture - Bronze Age Italy Sistrum (Sistra) Music: Ancient Egypt Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In the Black Sea, almost all sea life is in the top 100 - 200 m (328 - 656 ft). The deep sea plunges 2 mi (3.2 km) a floor of massive crevasses and cracks. From above, the Black Sea is fed by rain and fresh water. Through the Bosporus, the water is salt and more dense. Heavy, cold and anoxic, these waters cannot hold life ... or can they? See also: Victorian Health: Sea Water Hydrotherapy Nature Spirits of German Mythology Chamois - Alpine Wild Nature & Lore Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Certain bacteria live without oxygen, and these are found in the depths of the Black Sea. Some even create protective slime to help others survive. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure The Bosporus takes its name from Greek mythology and the story of Io. As an object of Zeus's amorous pursuits she makes Hera jealous. Io tries to escape Zeus, but he turns himself into a white cloud and impregnates her. See also: Mythic Fire Gods: Hephaestus of the Greek Cattle Goddesses & the Cosmic Cow Oldest Cattle Cult 6000 BCE - Arabia Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Angry Hera turns Io into a white cow watched by giant Argus Panopte of a hundred eyes. Panopte means all-seeing. Hermes (Mercury), sent by Zeus, slays Argus, setting Io free to wander the lands. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Hera immortalizes the eyes of Argus in the tail of the peacock. She sends a relentless gadfly to torment the white cow until Io crosses the Bosporus Strait. She lands at present-day Üsküdar, which was named Bous 'the Cow' and later Greek Chrysopolis or City of Gold. See also: Fänggen (Fangga): Man-Eaters of Tyrol Baltic Amber - Gold of the North Elderberry Tree: Germanic Nature Lore Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Bosporus (Gr. boos poros) means "cattle crossing" or "ox ford". After crossing the strait Io meets the Titan Prometheus, who assures her she'll be restored to human form by Zeus. She becomes the ancestor of several Greek heroic figures. READ - Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries The hero Kadmos (Cadmus) is her descendant, and so is King Minos of Minotaur fame. Greeks Perseus and Heracles descend from Io through her granddaughter Libya. The Ionian sea between the south of Italy and the East Mediterranean coast is named for her. See also: Mugwort (Wormwood) Herbal Lore White Pigments of Ancient Artisans Song of the Loreley - Lethal Beauty Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books To get to the Bosporus, seafaring Greeks of the Bronze Age begin in the Mediterranean. They sail through the world's smallest sea, the Sea of Marmara, and arrive the Bosporus Strait. Marmara means marble, after the stone of its southern island. Called Propontis by Ancient Greeks the sea is 175 mi (280 km) long and about 50 mi (80 km) across at the widest point. Jason and the Argonauts sail through seeking the Golden Fleece, historically c. 1300 BCE. See also: Ephedra - Oldest Medical Stimulant Herb Mythology: Gods of Mycenean Greece Erinyes - Vengeful Women of Ancient Greece Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The Argonauts are 50 of the bravest heroes of Greece. They include Heracles; Orpheus; Castor, Pollux and Argos, builder of the Argo aided by war goddess Athena. A typical Bronze Age ship, Argo is a single-sail wood galley with maneuverable sail and room for fifty rowers. A special sightline from a statue at the ship's prow helps Jason, on the rudder at the back, to navigate. The piece of wood is considered a gift from Zeus. The ship can even be taken apart and rolled on logs over land. See also: Sailing - Bronze Age Sails & Sailcloth Sherden Sea Peoples in Ancient Egypt Salt Trade - the Most Precious Mineral Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The Argonauts cross the Sea of Marmara without mishap, except for killing King Cyzicus, only to find Bosporus Strait blocked by colossal floating boulders called the Symplegades, or Clashing Rocks. The rocks guard the entrance to the channel. The boulders smash together and crush any ship trying to pass between them. Jason and the Argonauts must get through the strait, for the Golden Fleece lies beyond. See also: Egyptian Blue Lotus: Visionary Beauty Turquoise: Precious Stone of Ancients Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Links Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books On shore Jason helps a blind prophet, who gives him advice. The prophet tells him to let a dove fly through the pass first. The rocks will crush the bird and Jason and the Argo crew can get through as the rocks pull apart. READ - Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Jason does as directed. The rocks clash together and the bird barely escapes with the loss of some tail feathers. This indignant bird may have had a talk with the warlike Stymphalian Birds of Ares, who dwell on the Black Sea and also show up in the Argonaut adventures. See also: Ornithomancy - Prophecy by the Birds Stymphalian Birds & Greek Heroics Rhinestones: Treasures of the Rhine Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books As the great rocks pull apart again, Jason and the Argonauts aboard the magnificent ship safely pass through. The rocks then become fixed, clearing the strait for Greeks to access the Black Sea for evermore. Jason and the Argonauts head for Colchis on the east coast of the Black Sea, in the area of today's Georgia. On the way they have many adventures. At the Isle of Ares, they encounter hostile Stymphalian Birds, man-eating avian monsters with feathers of copper and bronze. See also: Copper: Ruddy Metal of Myth & Magic Giant Cinnamon Birds of Arabia Bird Woman Elwetritsch: German Folklore Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The Isle of Ares correlates with today's Giresun Island on the Turkish Black Sea Coast. Besides vicious Stymphalian Birds it's known for the tragic tale of love between a princess and a shepherd. Creatures of battle, Stymphalian Birds are protected by Greek war god Ares. Their feathers hurtle like arrows through the skies. Only by skillful use of their shields do most of the Argonauts avoid grievous injury. In later depictions the birds are often shown as harpies. See also: Ba Bird & Sacred Ram - Ancient Egypt Amazons - Warrior Women History & Myth German Myth & Folklore: Elves Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Heracles has encountered these birds before, in his sixth labor for Eurystheus, king of Mycenae, Greece. He tells the warriors to bang on their shields and shout. The noise is enough to frighten the birds, who retreat from the fray. Eventually the Argonauts arrive in Colchis, a Bronze Age state in today's Georgia. Aeëtes, King of Colchis, won't part with the Golden Fleece. A symbol of authority and Kingship, it's guarded by a dragon who never sleeps. Jason steals it with help of Aeëtes' daughter, Medea. See also: Nibelung - Of Worms & Heroes Mushussu - Snake Dragon Animal of Marduk The Mystic Victorian - Fortune Telling Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Medea, a sorceress, sedates the dragon with narcotic herbs. Once the dragon is asleep, Jason takes the fleece and sails off with Medea, who kills her brother Absyrtus on the way. The story of the Golden Fleece a popular tale by c. 8th century BCE. See also: Wadjet - Winged Snake Goddess of Egypt Silver - Queen of Precious Metals German Myth: Lindwyrm, Mare & Pig Demons Back to Top

Colchis is a Bronze Age kingdom on the the Black Sea famous as the destination of Jason and the Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece. People inhabit the coasts of the Black Sea since Paleolithic times, based on finds of flint tools and flooded settlements. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure See also: Bosporus: Black Sea Nature & Greek Myth Black Sea: Stone Age & Early History Stymphalian Birds & Greek Heroics Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books With fertile lowlands and a favorable climate, population grows on the east coast. In parts of Colchis, civilization is advanced by second millennium BCE. The people use sophisticated farming implements, knowledge of crop cultivation and agrarian techniques. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures The Colchian Late Bronze Age (15th - 8th century BCE) is marked by evolution of skills in metal work, such as smelting and casting. People have the ability to make bronze and plenty of copper. Bronze is about 88% copper and 12% tin (or sometimes arsenic). See also: Copper: Ruddy Metal of Myth & Magic Amazons - Warrior Women History & Myth Lucifer, Venus & Anti-Gods of Mythology Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Colchis has copper reserves and acquires tin by trade. The nearest tin deposits are in Turkey or Greece. The Greeks bring treasures from inland regions to the trade hub peninsula of Sinope on the south Black Sea coast. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure In Greek mythology Colchis is the destination of Jason and the Argonauts searching for the Golden Fleece. The adventures of the Argonauts are set in c. 1300 BCE. The fleece is owned by King Aeëtes, guarded by a dragon who never sleeps. See also: Anatolia - Alaca Höyük City of the Sun Early Fire Gods - Vulkan of Germania Alp or Alps: Elves & Alpine Mountains Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The daughter of King Aeëtes is the sorceress Medea. Goddess Hera sends Eros to shoot her with arrows of love for Jason, to help with his quest. Hera, Athena and Aphrodite want Jason to succeed. Medea puts the dragon to sleep, and Jason grabs the fleece. In the ensuing chase Medea kills her brother, Absyrtus, throwing pieces of his body into the sea to distract her father. Grief-stricken Aeëtes gives up the pursuit to gather the remains of Absyrtus, allowing Medea, Jason and the Argonauts to escape. See also: Wine God Liber: Liberty & Liberal Libation Chamois - Alpine Wild Nature & Lore Sailing - Bronze Age Sails & Sailcloth Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Small states like Diaokhi, Zabakha, Viterukhi and Colcha are run by powerful clans by the 12th century BCE. Kings rule and make laws. Public offices are held by wealthy landowners. Major enemies are the Assyrians and in the 9th century BCE, Urartians. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures At bottom of the social scale are common people. They work lands of the aristocracy but are not serfs, and can leave if desired. Freehold farms arise in the Pontic Mountains. As towns grow through trade, rich merchants create a middle class. Women are subordinate to men. See also: Women of Alchemy - Mary the Jewess Women of the Wild Hunt: Holle, Diana, Frigg Eye of Ra Egypt - Wrath of the Woman Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The Kingdom of Colchis is described as a land abundant in timber, gold, iron and honey. Its main exports are to the ancient Hellenic city-states. Colchis grows into a diverse population of people from different cultures. According to Greek and Roman sources, between 70 and 300 languages exist in Dioscourias (modern Sukhumi) alone. Dioscourias is settled by the Greeks in the 6th century BCE. See also: Mad Honey - What's the Buzz? Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Baltic Amber - Gold of the North Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Many tribes and settlements spread along the Colchian coast. They include Machelones, Heniochi, Zydretae, Lazi, Chalybes, Tibareni/Tubal, Mossynoeci, Macrones, Moschi, Marres, Apsilae, Abasci, Sanigae, Coraxi, Coli, Melanchlaeni, Geloni and Soani (Suani). The tribes have various origins. Some arrive from the Caucasus and Pontic Mountains, or from the east before establishment of Iberia. Greek historian Herodotus says the Colchians are "dark-skinned and woolly-haired". He believes they're Egyptian. See also: Ka - Life Essence in Ancient Egypt Ba Bird & Sacred Ram - Ancient Egypt Was Scepter, Djed & Ankh Power Trio Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Herodotus goes on to explain how the Colchians, with ancient Egyptians and Ethiopians, are the first to practice circumcision. He claims the custom is inherited from remnants of the army of Pharaoh Sesostris (Senusret III), who reigns 1837 - 1819 BCE. According to Pliny the Elder: "The Colchians were governed by their own kings in the earliest ages, that Sesostris king of Egypt was overcome in Scythia, and put to fight, by the king of Colchis, which if true, that the Colchians not only had kings in those times, but were a very powerful people." See also: Ancient Wild Predators - Eurasian Lion Giant Cinnamon Birds of Arabia Pontic Mountains: the Black Sea Alps Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Modern theories suggest Laz-Mingrelian (southern Caucasian) ancestry. According to Pausanias, a geographer of the 1st century BCE, based on writings of the poet Eumelos, the mythical first king of Colchis, Aeëtes, is of Greek origin. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Colchians may be related to the neighboring Koban culture appearing in the Middle Bronze Age. According to historians the first mention of Colchis is in the reign of the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I (c. 1245 -1209 BCE) when writings describe 40 kings by the Upper Sea. See also: Cyprus: Prehistoric Humans & Pygmy Hippos Saffron - Most Precious Ancient Spice Tanning Hides - the Ancient Process Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books During the Middle Assyrian Empire (c. 1365 - 910 BCE) the range of Colchis includes the western part of today's Georgia and provinces of Samegrelo, Imereti, Guria, Adjara, Svaneti, Racha; Abkhazia. It covers Russia's Sochi and Tuapse; and Artvin, Rize, Trabzon of Turkey. READ - Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Before the rise of Colchis, several changes occur to the environment. Melting Ice Age glaciers raise sea levels. The Black Sea, a freshwater lake, in inundated with salt water from the Mediterranean Sea. See also: Silver - Queen of Precious Metals Figs - Food of the Ancient World Seduction of Hedammu, Father of Snakes Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Coastal settlements of the Stone Age are completely flooded, which is one reason it's difficult to find early archaeological history. Available data comes largely from the Turkish Black Sea coast. Today, the Russian-Ukraine conflict puts a pause on some research. The Black Sea becomes salt about 5500 BCE. The influx of water drives people out of their settlements and into the mountains, talking about a great terrible flood. It may be the same flood sent by Mesopotamian God Enlil, who can't sleep due to humans making noise. See also: Care & Feeding of Ancient Gods - Enlil Kulullu - Fish Man Monster of Tiamat Yarrow (Achillea) Magic & Medicine Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Or, it might be the flood sent by Yahweh, god of the Israelites, who feels humans are too corrupt. About the same time (c. 5400 BCE), a huge volcanic eruption in Indonesia blocks the sun and changes the course of civilization. The volcano's effects are felt for decades. After the flood, eruption and related disasters, environmental peace comes to the shores of the Black Sea as nature finds a balance. Due to poor water mixing, the Black Sea separates into layers of oxygenated and anoxic water. See also: Yahweh: Warrior Origins, Name & Lore Minoan Genius (Genii) Helper Spirits Hesperus (Vesper) the Evening Star Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Waters don't mix because it's a sea twice removed. The narrow Bosporus Strait is the only channel into the Black Sea from the Mediterranean, via the Marmara, and the only channel from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean is the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain. Due to the limited influx of water from the Atlantic, the Mediterranean has almost no tides. As a result the Black Sea, fed through the Bosporus has no tidal action or water mixing. All life exists in the top oxygenated level of the sea. See also: Kiashe (Kiaše) - Elemental Sea God Lotan - Chaos Sea Dragon of Ugarit Heh Gods & Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books It's enough. The first arrivals at the Eastern Black Sea coast find a paradise of fish and game, and a fertile lowland where crops and livestock can prosper. By the middle of the second millennium BCE, the coast is well populated. READ - Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Colchis prospers through trade and agriculture. Greek colonists arrive, attracted by the richness of the region. Several cities mint their own coinage. Area art, language and religion continues to show a cosmopolitan nature in Greek and later Roman periods. See also: Arcadia - Greek Lands of Ancient Gods Suri (Śuri): Ancient Etruscan Fire God Lapis Lazuli: Vibrant Blue Gem of Ancients Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Before c. 1180 BCE Kashka mountain raiders and similar tribes make forays along the coast. Some add to the growing civilization of Colchis. Others turn their sights in the opposite direction, making guerrilla attacks on their favorite enemies, the Hittites. The Hittites never reach the Black Sea coast. Mighty as they are they can never get past the mountain tribes, who attack and sack areas the Hittites try to settle. The Colchians at the same time are bordered to the east by strong allies, the Iberians. Kashka - Mountain Raiders of Anatolia Erinyes - Vengeful Women of Ancient Greece Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books When Greeks first arrive at the Black Sea, they call it the "inhospitable sea". Once sailors gain experience with the waters, they change the name to the "hospitable sea." The area once had substantial deposits of iron ore and copper, which are now depleted. See also: Hematite: Magnetic Iron Oxide Red Mountain Gazelle: Wild Ancient World Night Raven (Nachtkrapp) Germania Back to Top

Tanning is the ancient process of making animal skins into leather. For best results the animal is skinned right after death, before losing body heat. Flaying can be done by the tanner, or skins are acquired from a slaughterhouse, farm or trader. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure See also: Tanning Hides - Ancient Techniques Pistachio: Turpentine, Resin & Nuts Sinope: Poison, Honey, Greeks & Clay Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Skins are often dried stiff and grimy. Ancient tanners soak the skins to clean and soften them. Next they pound, scrape and scour the hide to remove flesh and fat. Flint hide-scraping tools are often found at Neolithic sites. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Historically the tanning process is by vegetable tanning. Cedar oil, alum (a sulfate salt), or tannin extracts are applied to the skin as tanning agents. Tanning uses the same materials for thousands of years. Chemicals like mercury and chromium become popular after 1840. See also: Mercury (Quicksilver): Miracle Metal of Alchemy Arsenic: Murderous Metal & Miracle Cure Orpiment - Painter's Golden Poison Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle After soaking, hides are treated with milk of lime and a mixture of sulfides and cyanides to remove hair. The process swells and splits fibers and conditions the collagen in the hide. It breaks down cystine, a compound strengthening feathers, hooves, horns and hair. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Hair may be stripped off by soaking the skin in urine. Another method involves letting the skin putrefy for several months. The tanner then dips it in a salt solution. After the hair is loosened, the tanner scrapes it off with a knife or stone scraper. See also: Einkorn Wheat - First Domestic Crops Immortal - Quest for the Elixir of Life Black Pigments of Ancient Artisans Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Before chemical discoveries, tanners use plant and animal matter. After denuding, the hides are cured with salt to prevent bacterial growth and collagen rot. Curing removes water from the hides and skins. Similar processes are used in ancient Egyptian mummification. In wet-salting, hides are heavily salted, then pressed into packs for about 30 days. In brine-curing, the hides are agitated in a saltwater bath for about 16 hours. Curing can also be done by preserving hides and skins at low temperatures. See also: Edelweiss: Alpine Flower of True Love Alp or Alps: Elves & Alpine Mountains Mountain Gazelle: Wild Ancient World Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books During tanning, hides are subject to a series of processes including soaking, liming, removal of any extraneous tissues (unhairing, scudding and fleshing), deliming, bating or puering (treating with heated dog dung), drenching, and pickling. Soaking involves immersing the hides in clean water to remove any salt left from curing, and to raise the moisture content to further treat the hide. To prevent damage of the skin by rot or bacterial growth during the soaking period, fungicides or other biocides are used. See also: White Pigments of Ancient Artisans Nature Spirits of German Mythology Pomegranate - Food of the Ancients Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle From ancient times to the 18th century, tanners use the chemical compound tannin, derived from tree bark, resin and leaves. Hides are stretched out on frames and immersed in vats with concentrated amounts of tannin. Tannins bind to collagen proteins in the hide. Coating the proteins makes them water and bacteria resistant. At the same time, tannins help soften the hide and make it more flexible. Tannins include natural fungicides to repel rot. See also: Tannenbaum - About the Yule Fir Tree Pontic Mountains: the Black Sea Alps Mythic Fire Gods: Hephaestus of the Greek Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Once the hair is completely removed, the tanners soften or bate the hide by pounding dung into the skin, or soaking it in a solution of animal brains. Bating or puering is a process of fermentation using enzymes produced by bacteria in dog or pigeon dung. READ - Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries After the treatment breaks down hair proteins, any remaining hairs are manually scraped off. A layer called grain, the part of the skin with hair follicles, is also scraped off. Bacterial fermentation with dung isn't needed in modern tanning. See also: House Spirits of Germanic Mythology Stymphalian Birds & Greek Heroics Before the Vikings - Early Northern Cultures Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books A process called braining can also be used to soften and condition the hides. Fat and lecithin in mammalian brains create an effective tanning solution. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Native North Americans are known for using animal-based tanning methods. Brains are a major ingredient, but egg yolks can be substituted if desired. See also: Chamois - Alpine Wild Nature & Lore Jimson Weed, Witches & Zombies Folk Magic: Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle In a solution of: 454 g (1 lb) brains, or a dozen egg yolks, well blended 5.5 liters (1.5 gal) hot water 60 ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil or melted fat ... hides are soaked for fifteen minutes to twenty-four hours. The skin can be wrung out and re-soaked several times. Afterward the hides are stretched and given a wash of alum. See also: Herbology & Lore: Poison Hemlock Pretty Poisons: Holly, Yew, Mistletoe German Vampires - Nachzehrer Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The hides can also be pickled. Pickling just means tanning, or turning rawhide into leather. Hides and skins are soaked in a salt bath of hot water. When the water cools, 28 g (1 oz) of sulfuric acid is added. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure In the ancient world corrosive chemicals such as ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) and zinc chloride (ZnCl2) are known in the Bronze Age. Sulfuric acid is discovered in the 8th century CE. Before that, natural tannins are largely used. See also: Sailing - Bronze Age Sails & Sailcloth Ancient Grains: Wheat, Barley, Millet, Rice Medicine in Ancient Egypt: Ebers Papyrus Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In the pickling mix, skins are soaked for a few days up to 2 months, depending on size, condition or intended use of the skins. In vegetable tanning, the hides soak in a solution of vegetable tannins, such as found in gallnuts, sumac leaves, and green shells of walnuts. READ - Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Tannins for vegetable tanning occur naturally in plant bark and leaves. Primary tannin barks include chestnut, oak, redoul (Coriaria myrtifolia), tanoak, hemlock, quebracho, mangrove and acacia. See also: Mulberry Tree (Morus): Uses, Folklore & Myth Figs - Food of the Ancient World Mad Honey - What's the Buzz? Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle In Ethiopia, the combined vegetable oils of Niger seed (Guizotia abyssinica) and flax seeds are used in treating the flesh side of the leather, as a means of tawing (tanning with alum), rather than vegetable tanning. In ancient Yemen and Egypt, hides are tanned by soaking them in a bath of crushed leaves and bark of the Salam acacia (Acacia etbaica). Hides that have been stretched on frames are immersed for several weeks in vats of increasing concentrations of tannin. See also: Queen Eleanor & the Calamitous Crusade Plant Lore: Stinking Nightshade, Henbane Verdigris: Volatile Blue Green Pigment Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Vegetable tanning takes longer than mineral (chemical) to convert rawhides to leather. Mineral tanned leather is used for shoes, car seats and home upholstery. Vegetable tanned leather is best for leathercraft and for small items, such as wallets, handbags and clothes. See also: Saffron - Most Precious Ancient Spice Immortal - Quest for the Elixir of Life Eschenfrau: Wicked Ash Tree Woman Back to Top

Castor oil is common in ancient Egypt. It's the preferred lamp oil. A revitalizing skin ointment, castor oil is also a constituent in embalming the dead, and as medicinal treatment for constipation. The oil is cold-pressed from deadly toxic castor beans. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure See also: Myrrh - Mystique, Death & Divinity Creation, Cattle & the Cosmic Cow The Way to Aaru - Egyptian Paradise Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Castor oil is a colorless or pale yellow, with distinct taste and odor. Its boiling point is 313 °C (595 °F). It contains a mix of triglycerides (oils stored in fat cells). About 90% of the fatty acids are ricinoleates, which can be transformed or adapted for various industrial uses. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Oleic acid and linoleic acid are the other significant components. Castor oil is a valuable constituent in feedstocks and sells for a higher price than other seed oils. In India, Pakistan, and Nepal, castor oil is used to preserve food grains such as rice and wheat from rot. See also: Ancient Egypt Remedies: Ebers Papyrus Figs - Food of the Ancient World House Spirits of Germanic Mythology Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Castor oil is extracted by cold-pressing, or crushing the seeds at room temperature. Evidence of castor oil processing and use by the Egyptians comes from the first millennium BCE, fairly recent in the span of Egyptian history. Egyptians are great lovers of oils, perfumes and incense. From the time of the Chalcolithic or Copper Age, throughout changing styles and tastes, many Egyptians of the ancient world wear wigs. See also: Khella - Ancient Health & Herbology Turquoise: Precious Stone of Ancients Seduction of Hedammu, Father of Snakes Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Wigs are expensive, preferred head coverings for the elite classes. Quality wigs are made from human hair, including that of the wig wearer. They're worn as status symbols as well as protection from the burning sun. In art a perfume oil cone may be shown on top. The cone dispenses scent and conditioning oils into the wigs. Some ancient Egyptians are fastidious about full-body shaving, including the head. Reasons for this include personal hygiene as hair catches unpleasant body odors, sweat and airborne sand or grit. See also: Nekhbet - Vulture Goddess of Egypt Egyptian Blue Faience - Ceramic Glass Wandering Womb - Ancient Medicine Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Shaving prevents such infestations as fleas and lice. Also, evil spirits are considered to travel through hair into the body, causing infection or blockage of energy channels, and subsequent disease. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure After a close shave and bath, Egyptians emolliate with various oils such as olive oil, sesame seed and castor oils. The body is Khet, part of the soul. As they might bathe several times a day, Egyptians use oils to moisturize, scent and protect skin in the hot dry climate. See also: Book of the Heavenly Cow - Myths of Egypt Sekhmet - War Goddess of Ancient Egypt Medicine in Ancient Egypt: Ebers Papyrus Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Besides castor, ancient Egypt has access to locally sourced flax seed (linseed), grapeseed and hemp seed oil. Rosemary and almond oils are popular as well. Castor oil is also used for embalming the dead. One recipe requires the maker to mix exotic tree resins such as myrrh with cedar or juniper oil, add castor oil, animal fats or beeswax, and apply to the head. See also: Khet, the Body: Death Rites of Ancient Egypt Linen, Hemp & Cotton - Fabrics of Ancient Egypt Nefertum: He Who is Beautiful Gods of Egypt Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle As medicine, castor oil appears in the medical writings of the Ebers Papyrus. It's used to relieve constipation. The patient is warned against using it for mild constipation, as it could cause explosive diarrhea. The castor plant Ricinus communis is indigenous to the southeast Mediterranean, East Africa and India. In Greece it's hardy enough to grow as a small tree. The toxic ingredient is ricin. See also: Agrippina & Son: Poisonous Plots of Rome Spa Life & Murder in 1890s Germany Elixir of Life: Alchemy & the Emperor Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Raw castor beans are packets of deadly poison due to the presence of ricin. The lethal dose in adults is four to eight seeds. Ricin is lethal to animals. According to the Guinness World Records, castor is the world's most poisonous common plant. Symptoms of ricin poisoning start within two to 36 hours after ingestion. Ricin poisoning symptoms include burning in mouth and throat, abdominal pain, vomiting and bloody diarrhea. See also: Disease Demons & Doctors: Ancient Mesopotamia Eye of Ra Egypt - Wrath of the Woman Baltic Amber - Gold of the North Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Within a few days the patient experiences severe dehydration, a drop in blood pressure and decrease in urine. In untreated ricin poisoning, death occurs within 3–5 days. Under treatment the patient is expected to make a full recovery. Ricin is released if the seed breaks. If not broken the bean passes harmlessly through the body. The castor oil plant secretes the deadly toxin as protection from insect pests such as aphids. See also: Lord Rodent (Ninkilim) Sumerian Pest God Mushussu - Snake Dragon Animal of Marduk Cinnamon - Spice Trade of Ancients Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Ricin has been suggested for use as an insecticide. Castor oil does not contain ricin as the toxin doesn't bond with it. However, castor oil should never be used in or around eyes. For beauty use almond oil. In modern medicine, alcoholic extract of the castor leaf acts to protect the liver (of lab rats) from damage by some poisons. R. communis pericarp, the part enclosing the seeds, shows central nervous system benefits in mice, at low doses. At high doses mice quickly die. See also: Herbology & Lore: Poison Hemlock Pretty Poisons: Holly, Yew, Mistletoe Eschenfrau: Wicked Ash Tree Woman Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Water extract of the root bark has possible analgesic effects. Antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties occur in ethanolic extracts of Ricinus communis root bark. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Castor oil and the plant's roots and leaves are used in the ancient Indian medicinal system of Ayurveda. Ayurveda suggests castor oil as Keshya, a hair health herb which helps prevent premature gray, hair loss and dandruff. It's considered to enrich the hair follicles. See also: Egyptian Blue Lotus: Visionary Beauty Flooding of the Nile - Nature & Myth Sacred Scarab: Lucky Bug of Ancient Egypt Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Active ingredients in castor oil include Vitamin E, ricinoleic acid (not toxic) and other Omega-9 and Omega-6 fatty acids. Among other benefits these improve blood circulation and follicle health, and may treat hair breakage. In Ayurveda, a natural medicine system of India, Nepal and other Hindu-influenced regions, castor oil is also used for detoxification, massage and digestive health. It's believed to balance the doshas Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, and promote well-being. See also: Crocodilopolis - Sobek Crocodile God Sistrum (Sistra) Music: Ancient Egypt Garnets - Gemstones of Blood and Life Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Castor oil and derivatives are used in the manufacturing of soaps, lubricants, hydraulic and brake fluids, paints, dyes, coatings and inks. It's also processed for cold-resistant plastics, waxes and polishes, nylon, and perfumes. See also: Nanshe - Nature Goddess of Dreams Ullikummi - Rock Monster of Legend Seshat - Scribe Goddess Ancient Egypt Back to Top

Also known as henbane and black henbane, stinking nightshade (Hyoscyamus niger) is a toxic plant reputed to have magic, spiritual and medicinal powers. One of the mystic herbs, henbane is native to Europe and Siberia and naturalized in Ireland and Britain. Jump to: Henbane Psychoactive Properties Henbane Traditional Medicine Henbane Ingestion & Toxic Effects Henbane Side Effects & Overdose Firsthand Experience: Michael Schenck Stinking nightshade is known to the Vikings. Due to its hyperactive properties Hyoscyamus niger may have been used to stimulate "berserker rage" in ancient warriors. As a plant of shamans it aids connection with the spirit realms. See also: Pagan Solstice Fests: Mithras & the Sun Queen Eleanor & the Calamitous Crusade Agrippina & Son: Poisonous Plots of Rome The name henbane first appears in the Middle Ages in England, though the plant was in use since antiquity in continental Europe and the East. It's associated with the Indo-European stem *bhelena whose hypothetical meaning is 'crazy plant. The Proto-Germanic element bil meaning ‘vision, hallucination; magical power, miraculous ability’. Henbane is known for its psychoactive properties. The plant has been used in potions or magic brews, mixed with others like deadly nightshade or mandrake. See also: Sacrifice of the Male: Temple at Uppsala A Viking Christmas Yule Herbology & Lore: Stinging Nettle Henbane Psychoactive Properties Back to Top Psychoactive properties of henbane or stinking nightshade include visual hallucinations and a sensation of flight. Pliny writes about use of henbane by the ancient Greeks, describing it "of the nature of wine and therefore offensive to the understanding". Greek physician and botanist Dioscorides suggests its use as a sedative and painkiller. See also: Reiker For Hire, Victorian Era & Nixies Nature Spirits of German Mythology Wandering Womb - Ancient Medicine Henbane, called Herba Apollinaris, was used by the priestesses of Apollo to bring oracles. German friar Albertus Magnus, in his work De Vegetalibus (1250), claims necromancers used henbane to invoke the souls of the dead, as well as demons. 16th century historian John Gerard states in his Herball: "The leaves, the seeds and the juice, when taken internally cause an unquiet sleep, like unto the sleep of drunkenness, which continueth long and is deadly to the patient. To wash the feet in a decoction of Henbane, as also the often smelling of the flowers causeth sleep." See also: Rise of Pan: Fertility Goat God Péh₂usōn Witches' Night - Hexennacht Elderberry Tree: Germanic Nature Lore By the late Middle Ages henbane became intertwined with witchcraft and supernatural evil. A written work of 1864 explains: “The witches drank the decoction of henbane and had those dreams for which they were tortured and executed. It was also used for witches’ ointments and was used for making weather and conjuring spirits. If there were a great drought then a stalk of henbane would be dipped into a spring, then the sun-baked sand would be sprinkled with this.” Before hops, henbane is an ingredient in gruit, a beer flavoring. It's used in Germany until the enactment of the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot or purity law for brewing beer, which states only certain ingredients like hops can be used. See also: Rhinestones: Treasures of the Rhine Butzemann, Witches & Nyx - Scare 'em Good Herbology & Lore: Rowan (Mountain Ash) Henbane Traditional Medicine Back to Top As a traditional folk medicine, henbane is used to treat bone ailments rheumatism asthma cough nervous diseases stomach pain Stinking nightshade also functions as a painkiller, sedative and narcotic. Its psychoactive elements cause an altered state of consciousness, hallucinogenic experiences, and delirium. Use of henbane has been linked to dementia. See also: Gramophone, Player Piano & Motion Pictures Herbology & Lore: Caraway German Folklore - Irrwurz or Mad Root Henbane Ingestion & Toxic Effects Back to Top Ingestion of henbane or stinking nightshade overdose can cause: hallucinations dilated pupils narcosis restlessness flushed skin fast heart rate convulsions vomiting hypertension fever loss of muscle co-ordination Effects of the plant last 3-4 hours and aftereffects can last three days. See also: Herbology & Lore: Death Cap Mushrooms Alchemist Dippel: the Frankenstein Files Modern Mirrors, Elevators & Kindergarten Henbane Side Effects & Overdose Back to Top Side effects or after effects of stinking nightshade consumption can include: dryness of the mouth confusion visual illusions bizarre thoughts body imbalance memory disturbances farsightedness Overdose can cause respiratory paralysis, coma and death. As with many poisonous plants there's no direct cure for henbane poisoning. At the hospital the patient's stomach is pumped and symptoms treated as they appear. See also: German Myth & Folklore: Imps Herbology & Lore: Poison Hemlock Chicken Soup: Chickens in German Folklore Firsthand Experience: Michael Schenck Back to Top German scientist Michael Schenck explains an experience on black henbane: "The henbane's first effect was purely physical discomfort. My limbs lost certainty, pains hammered in my head, and I began to feel extremely giddy....I went to the mirror and was able to distinguish my face, but more dimly than normal. It looked flushed and must have been so. I had the feeling that my head had increased in size: it seemed to have grown broader, more solid, heavier, and I imagined that it was enveloped in firmer, thicker skin. The mirror itself seemed to be swaying, and I found it difficult to keep my face within its frame. The black discs of my pupils were immensely enlarged, as though the whole iris, which was normally blue, had become black. Despite of' the dilation of my pupils I could see no better than usual; quite the contrary, the outlines of objects were hazy, the window and the window frame were obscured by a thin mist." Schenck's pulse became rapid and he experienced a further increase in the hallucinogenic effects of the plant: "There were animals which looked at me keenly with contorted grimaces and staring, terrified eyes; there were terrifying stones and clouds of mist, all sweeping along in the same direction. They carried me irresistibly with them. Their coloring must be described - but it was not a pure hue. They enveloped in a vague gray light, which emitted a dull glow and rolled onward and upward into a black and smoky sky. I was flung into a flaring drunkenness, a witches' cauldron of madness. Above my head water was flowing, dark and blood-red. The sky was filled with herds of animals. Fluid, formless creatures emerged from the darkness. I heard words, but they were all wrong and nonsensical, and yet they possessed for me some hidden meaning." See also: Periwinkle: Magic & Medicine of Europe Lora Ley Adventures - Feast of Fools Wild Women and Winter Tales Back to Top

For four centuries in ancient Anatolia, the kingdom Arzawa grows to formidable power. Between c. 17 - 1300 BCE, Arzawans both harass and trade with Hittites, who try to assimilate them. During Hittite rule, Arzawans prove a big pain in the western regions. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure See also: Bronze Age Cultures - the Hittites Copper: Ruddy Metal of Myth & Magic Winter Tales - 4 Novellas Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The people fight hard for independence. They're not as obliging as other groups, such as the Hatti, the previous settlers of the Hittite lands. The Arzawans form allegiances with the Greeks, especially the Mycenaeans, with a common goal of overthrowing the Hittite Empire. Meanwhile the Kaskian mountain people hammer brutally at the Hittites' back doors. A mix of tribal groups, Kashka and allies in the Pontic Mountains cut off Hittite access to the Black Sea coast. See also: Stymphalian Birds & Greek Heroics Kashka - Mountain Raiders of Anatolia Pontic Mountains: the Black Sea Alps Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The Hurrians to the southeast also have considerable power. Traders and warriors, the Hurrians are known for their battle might, holding their own against the Hittites as a competing Anatolian power. Many Hurrian gods are adopted into the Hittite pantheon. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Throughout the Empires the Luwians have signicant influence through language and culture. They've been here a while. In the ancient Anatolian trading town of Kültepe (Kultepe), records of the Luwians date back to the 19th century BCE. See also: Bosporus: Black Sea Nature & Greek Myth Ancient Wild Predators - Eurasian Lion Taurus Mountains: Bronze Age Bounty Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books At the time of the middle Hittite Empire, Luwian is more commonly spoken than Hittite. The Luwian capital, mystic Purushanda, has never been found. The Kingdom of Arzawa extends from the western border of the Hittite realm to the coasts of the Aegaen Sea. Settlement expands along the Kaystros River (modern Küçük Menderes River in southern Turkey). The King of Arzawa establishes a capital at Apasa (Apaša), meaning 'bee'. It's later renamed Ephesus, and the people take the bee as their standard. See also: Sacrifice of the Male: Temple at Uppsala German Myth & Folklore: Imps Mad Honey - What's the Buzz? Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Today's Ayasuluk Hill in southern Turkey is the probable location of ancient Apasa. In later years the capital Ephesus moves a few kilometers away from the Ayasuluk Hill site. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Mycenaean (Mainland Greek) items such as pottery are found at Ayasuluk Hill, probably originating in trade. The Mycenaeans are warriors eager to establish trade relationships. Their trade network reaches as far north as the Baltic Sea in the wild north. See also: Bronze Age Europe - the Amber Roads Silver - Queen of Precious Metals Mythology: Gods of Mycenean Greece Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In c. 14th century BCE, the Kingdom of Arzawa is active at the same time the Assuwa league, a group of 22 united states and kingdoms in Western Antolia, united against the Hittite takeover. Sadly for them, the Assuwa league soon falls to the power of the Hittites. The 15th and 14th century brings many changes. Under constant attack by opportunistic neighbors, envious leaders, raiders, border terrorism and civil disobedience, the Hittite Kingdom nonetheless continues to defend and expand its borders. See also: Song of the Loreley - Lethal Beauty Wild Women and Winter Tales Volcanic Wipeout - 1600 BCE Eruption of Thera Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Arzawa allies with Egypt. Hittites and Egyptians are dire enemies. In the 14th century a plague of tularemia or rabbit fever sweeps through Hittite terroritory. Arzawans see the Hittites as vulnerable, and stage an attack. In the first use of a disease for bacterial warfare, the Hittites send rams infected with the bacterium out to the men of Arzawa. "Where did these rams come from?" exclaim the men of Arzawa. See also: Cyclades Islands: Paradise of Ancients Rabbit Fever Plague & Warfare: Hittites Mythic Fire Gods: Hephaestus of the Greek Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In a possible inspiration for the later Trojan Horse story, they take the rams home for a quick sacrifice and dinner. Most people are infected with the bacterium. Many die and more sicken. Hittite records in c. 1320 - 1315 BCE mention an anti-Hittite alliance of Arzawa with the region of Millawanta (Miletus) under the Mycenaean king of the Ahhiyawa. In the same century Hittite king Suppiluliuma I leads a campaign against Arzawa. See also: Blacksmiths: Iron, Metal, Gods & Myth Ereshkigal & the Mesopotamian Underworld Sun Goddesses of World Mythology Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books His successor Mursili II finally manages to bring the region under Hittite control around 1300 BCE. As the Hittites besiege the Arzawan capital, King Uhha-Zita and his family flee. Others follow their lead. When the Hittites move in they deport an additional 6,200 people. The Hittites also burn the ancient Greek city Miletus as punitive action against Mycenaean supporters of the uprising. See also: Puduḫepa - Queen of the Hittites Myth & Metallurgy - Metals of Antiquity Neolithic Europe - Danube Valley Culture Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The Hittites split the Kingdom of Arzawa into four vassal Kingdoms. Kingdom of Mira Hapalla "Seha River Land" Wilusa (Troy) which becames a Hittite vassal during the reign of Mursili's son About 1220 BCE, Hittites suppress another rebellion involving Mycenaean support. The revolution is centered on the Seha River land, part of former Arzawa. See also: Bronze Age - Corded Ware Culture Before the Vikings - Early Northern Cultures Pazuzu - Demon God of Mesopotamia Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books During the reign of the Hittite king Arnuwandas III (1220 - 1190 BCE), Arzawa is seized by a disloyal Hittite vassal, Madduwattas. Arzawa is never recaptured by the Hittites. As the Bronze Age collapse destroys empires, the Kingdom of Arzawa fades into the mist. See also: Amethyst - Divine Purple Quartz Gemstone Black Sea: Stone Age & Early History Ancient Grains: Wheat, Barley, Millet, Rice Back to Top

From the Pontic Mountains between the Anatolian Steppe and the Black Sea, the Kaskians (Kashka, Kaška, Kaska) are a fearsome people who swoop down on nearby settlements in raiding parties and guerrilla attacks. Many Hittite resources are spent fighting the Kaška. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure See also: Silver - Queen of Precious Metals Nature Spirits of German Mythology Before the Vikings - Nordic Bronze Age Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Some of the Bronze Age cities of Anatolia and Mesopotamia accumulate wealth as trade becomes lucrative and roads open up. One ancient city in particular, Alaca Höyük, has to build strong foundations against attacks of the wild mountain raiders. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure While the Kaška aren't well organized, their attack and conquer tactics strike lethal blows to towns of wealth and industry. Sometimes, if the Kaska lack funds or food they hire themselves out as mercenaries. See also: Tarhunna (Tarḫunna) Storm God of the Hittites The Igigi - Why Humans are Created Ishara - Goddess of Death & Desire Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Most of the time they're the nemesis of the Hittite Empire (c. 1600 - 1180 BCE). The Kaskians descend from the rugged mountains to batter the foundation of civilizations. Both Assyrians and Hittites try to quell their ravages. From c. 20th century BCE the Hittites are a warrior people on the rise to power. They manufacture the first iron goods, and steel by c. 1800 BCE. Chariots give them an advantage in fighting. They manage vast lands through independent government officials. See also: Anatolia - Alaca Höyük City of the Sun Asteria - Starry Gems of Myth & Magic Ephedra - Medical Stimulant Plant of Ancients Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The people worship storm gods. The Hittite weather god, Tarḫunna, aka the Weather god of Heaven or the Lord of the Land of Hatti, is strongly influenced by storm god Teshub of the Hurrians. Teshub is memorable because he was born out of his Kumarbi's split skull. The god Kumarbi bit off the testicles of Anu, the Sky God in a battle for supremacy, becoming impregnated with Teshub. His skull has to be split so Teshub can be born. See also: Copper - Ruddy Metal of Mystic Magic German Nature Spirits: Evolution Botanical Alchemy - White Dead Nettle Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The Hittites are among the greatest powers to emerge from the ancient world. The onslaught of the Kaskians is a constant drain of resources as new barriers as towns need rescue and resurrection. The Sphinx gate is built at the embattled town in the 14th century BCE. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure The attacks of the Kaska deplete military might against the Egyptians, another foe of the Bronze Age Hittites. Fortresses, towers and barriers must be built, cities regained and destruction reconstructed. See also: Mythic Fire Gods: Hephaestus of the Greek Ishum: Night Watchman & Fire God Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Trade roads need defense. Powerful forces battle for supremacy. The Kaska are opportunists. As mercenaries, Kaskians get a bad reputation for starting on one side and switching to the other. Warrior horse and chariot people, the Hittites aren't easily intimidated. Nonetheless, one of the reasons they don't spread further north, to the coast of the Black Sea, is because of the ferocity of the mountain people. See also: Divine Twins: Germanic & Greek Mythology Mythic Fire Gods - Vulkan of Germania Iron Age - Metallurgy & Metal Magic Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The Hittites and Kaskians launch repeated attacks on one another from about 1600 to about 1193 BC. In their off-time, the Kaskians spend the days weaving linen and raising pigs. They're also wheat-growers. One year, when their crop is eaten by locusts they're noted to join forces with another group and go to war. The Kaska people don't have a written language and build no cities. See also: Shapshu: Sun Goddess of Canaanites Asray: Ugaritic Underworld Goddess Ornithomancy - Prophecy by the Birds Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The Kaska mountain tribes ally with Mushki and Urumu (Urumean) people. finally come together under a leader, Pihhuniya of Tipiya c.1370 BCE. The Kaskians raze and sack Hattusa. Suppiluliuma II is the last King of the Hittites, ruling from c. 1207 - 1178 BCE. In c. 1190, the Kaskians sack Hattusa again. See also: Suri (Śuri): Ancient Etruscan Fire God Warrior Queen: Kriemhild of the Burgundians Wine God Liber: Liberty & Liberal Libation Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Finally Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser I defeats the Kaskian forces. During the ensuing Iron Age, the Kaska vanish from history. See also: Ancient Marsh Muse - Rough Horsetail Fertility Rituals - the Sacrificial God Sprites: Ethereal Creatures of Faerie Back to Top

Perchta lives in a well in southern Germany. She teaches humans how to spin flax into linen. Often represented as a hag, Perchta is also a warrior goddess and one of the leaders of the Wild Hunt. She has bright and dark aspects. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures See also: German Myth & Folklore: Elves Hags in Germanic Myth & Folklore Drude: Germanic Demon of Darkness Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Perchta (Berchta, Percht) is a southern manifestation of ancient Goddess Frau Holle (Holda, Hulda). Literature from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean shores of Italy presents local depictions figures with traits similar to those of Frau Holle. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure In the Germanic southlands the figure of Percha assumes the roles of Holle, and forms her own identity quirks. Scholar Jacob Grimm observes Perchta / Berchta is known "precisely in those Upper German regions where Holda leaves off, in Swabia, in Alsace, in Switzerland, in Bavaria and Austria." See also: Elderberry Tree: Germanic Nature Lore Little Elder Tree Mother: A Fairy Tale German Folklore - Irrwurz or Mad Root Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Bright Perchta dwells in her subterranean home most of the year. Over the Yule season or Twelve Days of Yule, especially Twelfth Night on Jan 5-6, Frau Perchta leaves her deep demesnes and goes out to visit households. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures As patron Goddess of spinning and weaving, Perchta observes the girls and servants of the household to be sure they've done their yearly allotment of spinning. Often the last fibers of flax from the spindle are dedicated to Frau Perchta, plucked off with an incantation for luck. See also: Linen, Hemp & Cotton - Fabrics of Ancient Egypt Chamois - Alpine Wild Nature & Lore Alp or Alps: Elves & Alpine Mountains Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Perchta can be harsh. If one has committed a sin of spinning during feast days, or is rude, lazy, not done the annual work; or if a person eats food besides fish and gruel on her feast day, Perchta rips out the culprit's innards and stuffs the body with straw, pebbles and dirt. Diligent and courteous workers are rewarded with a silver coin. In this way Perchta is a Kinderschreck or 'child fright', an entity which frightens children and superstitious adults into acceptable behavior. Both Holle and Perchta reward the good and punish the bad. See also: Germany: A Little 19th Century History Butzemann, Witches & Nyx - Scare 'em Good Periwinkle: Magic & Medicine of Europe Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Perchta is a Dunkele Großmutter and receives the souls of infants who die. They water flowers and and play in her gardens, for Perchta is not just a little old lady who lives in a well. Her realm beneath the earth is expansive. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Because of her proximity to the netherworld she's in a good position to catch the souls of infants. In the north, Frau Holle is also a Dunkele Großmutter, with her home in the clouds, bringing infant souls to the light; or to parallel Percha, as faerie creatures in her own realm. See also: German Myth & Folklore: Imps Pretty Poisons: Holly, Yew, Mistletoe German Vampires - Nachzehrer Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In the cult of Perchta, up to medieval times, people leave food and libations for "Fraw Percht" to receive blessings of prosperity and abundance. The writings De decem praeceptis (1439) and Thesaurus pauperum of Bavaria (1468) vilify the practice. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Religious texts equate Perchta with other major female spirits Holda; Diana the Huntress, also called Herodias, and Diana's aspects Abundia (plenty), Satia (full) and Richella (rich). Diana relates to pre-Christian figures like Holda or Perchta and also leads the Wild Hunt. See also: Women of the Wild Hunt: Holle, Diana, Frigg Wild Women and Winter Tales Brunhilde: Tragic Germanic Warrior Queen Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Like many divinities Perchta has a bright and dark side. In her bright aspect she can represent one of the White Ladies, Weiße Frauen or Weisse Damen appearing in folklore throughout Europe. White Ladies may appear singly or in a group. Perchta may travel alone but often with an entourage called Perchten, the plural of her name. Parade and festival animal masks in alpine regions of Austria are also called Perchten. See also: German Myth - White Ladies & Changelings Mad Honey - What's the Buzz? House Spirits of Germanic Mythology Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In the 16th century, the Perchten take two forms: Some are beautiful and bright, known as the Schönperchten (beautiful Perchten). These shining ones come during the Twelve Nights to bring luck and wealth to the people. The other form is the Schiachperchten (ugly Perchten) with fangs, tusks and horse tails. With loud clanging, shouting and leaping they scare away demons and ghosts, who roam abroad in the dark winter months. They go from house to house driving out bad spirits. See also: Fänggen (Fangga): Man-Eaters of Tyrol Klagefrau: Wailing Woman of German Folklore German Myth: Lindwyrm, Mare & Pig Demons Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Italian historian Carlo Ginzburg notes similarities between the Perchtenlaufen and the benandanti, who make up a visionary tradition in NE Italy. The benandanti travel out of their bodies while asleep to battle malevolent witches (malandanti). Their victory ensures good crops to come. Ginzburg says Perchtenlaufen is "undoubtedly a remnant of the ancient ritual battles" originally created around fertility of the crops. See also: Rise of Pan: Fertility Goat God Péh₂usōn Einkorn Wheat - First Domestic Crops White Pigments of Ancient Artisans Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Sometimes, der Teufel (Lucifer, Satan, the Devil) is viewed as the most hässlich or most ugly Percht, and Frau Perchta is the schönste (most beautiful) Percht. Perchta is also the Queen of the Heimchen, a name with several meanings. Heim means home and Heimchen is the house cricket, whose song or stridulation is connected to occult prophecy in Europe. In Silesia the song of the house cricket indicates presence of an undead spirit. See also: Chamomile - Herbology & Folklore Wiedergänger - the Undead Walk Again Nixies - Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Dwarfs are thought to shape-shift to crickets due to the chthonic nature of the insects. During her forays Perchta might have a stridulating cricket perched on her nose. The Heimchen or Perchten in the procession may also be howling souls of unbaptized children. Due to various factors Christian and pagan imagery often combine. Another hybrid is the squeal of fire logs, ascribed to screams of souls in Hell. People toss a little salt in the fire to appease them. If salt spills, throw some over your shoulder to hit the devil in the eye. See also: Romanesque - Magic of Light & Stone A Viking Christmas Yule Flooding of the Nile - Nature & Myth Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In Salzburg, Austria, Perchta is said to wander through Hohensalzburg Castle in the sinister dark of night. The Perchten are a traditional part of holidays and festivals such as Carnival Fastnacht. In the Pongau region of Austria large processions of Schönperchten ("beautiful Perchten") and Schiachperchten ("ugly Perchten") are held every winter. Beautiful masks are said to encouraging financial windfalls, and the ugly masks are worn to drive away evil spirits. See also: Hünenburg: Bronze Age European Trade Hub Tollense Valley Battlefield: Ancient Germania Sacrifice of the Male: Temple at Uppsala Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The Perchtenlauf is a folk custom of Tyrol, Austria, between Germany and Italy. The ceremony involves two groups of locals. Groups are masked, one as 'beautiful' and the other as 'ugly' Perchte. They battle each other using wooden canes and sticks. Although Perchta typically appears in hag form, as a leader of the Wild Hunt she is a shining warrior. Other leaders of the Hunt include Frau Holle and Huntress Diana. The Hunt may be localized. For instance, in Lucerne der Türst and his wife Sträggele lead the Hunt. See also: Sträggele: Witch Hag of the Wild Hunt Der Türst: Dread Huntsman & the Wild Hunt Eschenfrau: Wicked Ash Tree Woman Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Above, a group of Perchtenlauf participants clamor through the streets in Austria. Although celebrations of nature deities is once forbidden, the events happen in the middle of winter at inaccessible mountain villages, and enforcement of the ban is not possible. See also: Ancient Grains: Wheat, Barley, Millet, Rice Goats in German Myth: Erntebock & Habergeiß Stone Age Botai - First Horse People Back to Top

Baba Yaga is a tree hag nature spirit of Russia and the Slavic regions. She may be alone or with one or two others, called Baba Yaga collectively. Baba Yaga can be benevolent or malevolent in character, sometimes both the same day. See also: Erinyes - Vengeful Women of Ancient Greece Lamashtu, Baby-Eating Demon of Mesopotamia Aruru - Violent Vegetation Goddess Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In some depictions she's a demonic dark monster who fries and eats children. Similar anti-mother myths appear in the German Roggenmuhme or Rye Aunt, most terrible of the harvest spirits. Joining the anti-mother genre trilogy is the demon Lamashtu of Mesopotamian myth. She attacks pregnant or nursing mothers, throws curses and the evil eye. See also: Nungal (Manungal) Prison Goddess German House Spirits: Beer Donkey (Bieresel) Mythical Pagan German Gods & Spirits Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Lamashtu steals infants to eat them or suck their bone marrow, or infests mother and child with disease. She's among the most dreaded of the Mesopotamian demons. In her evil child-eating aspect, Baba Yaga is in good company. However neither Lamashtu nor Roggenmuhme has a benevolent side. See also: Sprites: Ethereal Creatures of Faerie Wine God Liber: Liberty & Liberal Libation Spiritual Magic - Numbers Three & Nine Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books When Baba Yaga goes out she rides in a mortar and swings a pestle like a weapon. Perhaps she goes to the Brocken on Hexennacht (Witches' Night). She often carries a mop or broom and uses it from her traveling mortar to hide her passage. In some tales, she's kind to the hero and gives help. She's a woman of the wild, living deep in the forest in a hut on chicken legs. She's associated with herbal medicine and can use her forest magic to benefit a person. See also: Pomegranate - Food of the Ancients Butzemann, Witches & Nyx - Scare 'em Good Despoina - Goddess of the Mysteries Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The hut regularly turns around. She and her sisters are easy to find in the woods. They're the only known entities to inhabit revolving chicken-legged huts. She first appears in a 1775 Russian grammar book. Baba Yaga may be called by the epithet Baba Yaga kostyanaya noga ('bony leg') or Baba Yaga s zheleznymi zubami ('with iron teeth'). See also: Women of the Wild Hunt: Holle, Diana, Frigg Witches' Night - Hexennacht Lahar: Flock & Sheep Pastoral Goddess Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle She can stretch out over her stove one from corner of her hut to another. Baba Yaga might sense and remark about the russkiy dukh ('Russian scent') of visitors. Her nose may stick into the ceiling. In representations, special emphasis may be placed on the repulsiveness of her nose or other distinctive body parts. See also: Wild Women and Winter Tales Lord Rodent (Ninkilim) Sumerian Pest God House Spirits of Germanic Mythology Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In a list of the Greek/Roman gods with Slavic equivalents, Baba Yaga is one of the few entities who has no specific equivalent, unless numbered among the Erinyes, or Furies. See also: Nixies - Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Pagan Solstice Fests: Saturnalia Der Türst: Dread Huntsman & the Wild Hunt Back to Top

Chamois are among the most popular prey animals since the rise of Homo erectus two million years ago. In folklore, chamois in Tyrol are protected by the Fangga nature giantess. Nimble chamois can ascend the highest peaks, where many a hunter has fallen to death. See also: Fänggen (Fangga): Man-Eaters of Tyrol Arabian Leopard: Bronze Age Predators Mountain Gazelle: Wild Ancient World Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Several species of chamois live wild or in nature preserves today. The common ancestor of chamois appears in the Miocene, 23 - 5 million ya. The range of European chamois includes Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Romania and Slovenia. Ten years before New Zealand becomes a British colony in 1840, the Māori King sends samples of wild flowers, birds and colorful lizards to Francis I in Austria. Francis returns the favor with six does and two bucks, ancestors of today's New Zealand chamois. Dromedary Camel: Animals of Ancient Arabia Stone Age Botai - First Horse People Black Sea: Stone Age & Early History Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The pronunciation of its name resembles that of the French. The term shammy is applied to certain types of material for polishing. While today the "shammy" is industrially made, the original comes from the scraped and treated hides of the wild chamois. Chamois hides create soft leather used in clothing and fabric, perfect for early hunter-gatherer nomads who frequent the alpine regions, before widespread fiber weaving. Flint hide scrapers are found in Stone Age sites at the Black Sea and other regions. See also: Ancient Wild Predators - Eurasian Lion Giant Cinnamon Birds of Arabia Caspian Tiger: Bronze Age Wild Predators Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Modern chamois leather might come from chamois hides. More common are hides of deer, domestic goats, sheep, or synthetic materials. If one goes looking for chamois in Tyrol, it's vital to be wary. The animals are under protection of the man-eating Fangga Frauen. In regions such as Austria, Germany, Tyrol, Italy, England and Switzerland natural science is a zooming trend of the 19th century. All of Europe embraces the discoveries of people such as Germany's Alexander von Humboldt and England's Charles Darwin and Asa Gray. See also: Amazing Legacy of Alexander von Humboldt 19th Century: Home Gym, Bicycles, Antiseptic Pioneering German Women - Bertha Benz Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books People turn to nature as the health consequences of industry take hold, such as lung disease and phossy jaw. Travel, natural science and the widespread publication of books raise interest in the environment, human rights and personal well-being. A romantic gesture by Francis I, giving an edelweiss to his queen Sisi while on a mountain hike, sparks a craze in German-speaking lands. Found only at alpine heights, edelweiss becomes synonymous with true love, courage and mountaineers. See also: Phosphorus: Element of Fatal Fascination Edelweiss: Alpine Flower of True Love Spa Life & Murder in 1890s Germany Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The flower almost goes extinct. The new Victorian concept of environmental awareness steps in, and edelweiss comes under state protection. Today several species of chamois are also protected by their disparate countries in parks and reserves. A fully grown chamois reaches a height of 70 - 80 cm (28 - 31 in) and measures 107- 137 cm (42 - 54 in). Males weigh 30 - 60 kg (66 - 132 lb). They're slightly larger than females, who weigh in at 25 - 45 kg (55 - 99 lb). See also: Der Türst: Dread Huntsman & the Wild Hunt Mad Honey - What's the Buzz? Ancient Grains: Wheat, Barley, Millet, Rice Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Both male and female chamois have horns although those of the male are thicker. The chamois also has a tuft of hair on its nape, the Gamsbart (chamois beard). It's traditionally worn as hat decor in alpine regions of Bavaria, Austria and Tyrol, at one time as a trophy. In modern times Gamsbärte are created from various animal hair or synthetic materials. The Gamsbart is made by a Bartbinder or beard binder, a specialist artisan. There are about two hundred Bartbinder active today. Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Little ungulates or bovids, chamois are a type of goat-antelope, with curved horns and cloven hooves. Cloven hooves are basically large flexible toes, as opposed to true hooves like those of horses. The cloven hoof is well adapted to the uneven landscape of mountains. Camels also have cloven hooves to ease walking on the shifting desert sands. Other cloven hoofed animals include cows, sheep, goats, pigs, deer, llamas, alpacas, musk ox, yak and buffalo. See also: Goats in German Myth: Erntebock & Habergeiß Alchemist Dippel: the Frankenstein Files Women of the Wild Hunt: Holle, Diana, Frigg Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Stories of satyrs, fauns and the goat god Pan, who are said to frequent wild alpine forests, may be linked to the hoofprints of the chamois. The belief can be buffered by the habit of chamois to forage on moonlit nights. The cloven hoof is also a symbol of the Christian devil. Indigenous to the Northern Hemisphere, chamois dine on highland grasses, plants and herbs in summer and conifers, barks and needles from trees in winter. Besides moonlit or full moon nights they're usually active during the day, and take a rest around noon. See also: Mugwort (Wormwood) Herbal Lore White Pigments of Ancient Artisans Klagefrau: Wailing Woman of German Folklore Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) are native to Eurasia. Although they're most frequent in alpine habitats they sometimes dwell in forests. Divided into seven species and habitation regions, they are: R. r. asiatica (Anatolian chamois or Turkish chamois) - Turkey R. r. balcanica (Balkan chamois) - Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, N. Greece, N. Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia R. r. carpatica (Carpathian chamois) - Romania R. r. cartusiana (Chartreuse chamois) - France R. r. caucasica (Caucasian chamois) - Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia R. r. rupicapra (Alpine chamois) - Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Slovenia, Slovakia, New Zealand R. r. tatrica (Tatra chamois) - Tatra mountains in Slovakia & Poland See also: Jimson Weed, Witches & Zombies Song of the Loreley - Lethal Beauty Jet Black - Ancient World Gemstones Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books From the times of early humans these animals have been hunted for food and more. As prey animals in prehistory to modern times, chamois are known for flavorful meat. Skins are used for clothing and dwellings. Bones make tools, weapons, combs and sewing needles. The chamois has a role in music. First used in the 15th century, the Gemshorn is a musical wind instrument created from a chamois horn. The name comes from "Gämshorn", the German word for chamois horn. See also: Black Pigments of Ancient Artisans Sistrum (Sistra) Music: Ancient Egypt Great Women Artists - Käthe Kollwitz Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In the past, the main predators of chamois are Eurasian lynxes, Persian leopards, golden jackals, gray wolves, brown bears and golden eagles. In captivity chamois can attain an age of 22 years. Average age in the wild is 15 - 17 years. Chamois inhabit alpine meadows above the timberline, with varying terrain. They may move into forests and steep slopes in winters of heavy snow. Overall the chamois prefer elevations with minimum height of 3,600 m (11,800 ft). See also: Cyprus: Prehistoric Humans & Pygmy Hippos After the Ice Age - Neolithic Builders Neolithic Nubia & Early Egyptians Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Chamois are well adapted to their precarious environments and accidental falls are rare. In Europe the chamois fills the niche of the mountain goat. Causes of mortality are avalanches, epidemics and predation. Today, humans remain the main predator of the chamois. Apart from a few protected areas chamois are hunted in most of Europe including Greece, Croatia, Romania, Spain, Slovakia, Germany, France and Austria. New Zealand encourages hunting. The NZ animals are about 20% smaller than their European cousins. See also: Periwinkle: Magic & Medicine of Europe Sinope: Poison, Honey, Greeks & Clay Irrwurz or Mad Root: German Folklore Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Chamois are at home on dangerous hillsides and mountain cliffs. Hunters must pursue them to perilous heights. Chamois can jump almost 2 m (6.5 ft) high from a standing start. In a single leap they can cover more than 6 m (19.5 feet). In the foothills they're no easier to hunt. Even on rugged ground the swift chamois can run up to 50 km/h (31 mph). Chamois are found on cliffs, in forests and pasture lands. Their sense of smell is keen and alerts them to predators. See also: Germanic Mythology - Brook Horses Butzemann, Witches & Nyx - Scare 'em Good Chamomile - Herbology & Folklore Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle A chamois communicates danger to the herd by stamping her feet and whistling. If threatened the chamois flee. They scramble up cliffs, across rocky slopes, or hide among reclining mountain pines. In winter they try to stay in upper alpine regions. By this time many of the does are pregnant. They find food beneath the snow, and icy footing at treacherous heights protects them from climbing predators like humans. Visually, chamois tend to scan the lower regions for threats. See also: Wild Women and Winter Tales Brunhilde: Tragic Germanic Warrior Queen Kusarikku - Bull Men of Mesopotamia Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Early human hunters who can climb higher than the chamois, and approach from above, have the best chance of success, but lives are easily lost this way. Because of the danger, hunters are especially celebrated when bringing home the chamois. Chamois form herds of up to thirty animals, composed of mothers and kids. The young chamois spend their first year learning to survive on the rocky slopes. Usually a mother bears one kid, rarely twins. If a mother dies, other females step in to raise the kid. See also: Pentagram: Drudenfuß, Five Point Star Night Raven (Nachtkrapp) Germania Ephedra - Oldest Medical Stimulant Herb Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Females remain with the herd but grown males, who are sexually mature at 2-3 years of age, are forced out by competing bucks. The bucks live solitary lives throughout the year and seek out a herd during the annual rut in November (May in New Zealand). Males in rut rub their horns on branches and twigs to deposit a musky secretion from glands behind the horns. They may do this at other times of year but are especially demonstrative during the rut. The smell allows recognition of individuals by other males. See also: Elderberry Tree: Germanic Nature Lore Humbaba: Giant Mountain Forest Man Zagros Mountains - the Way to Kur Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle This can be enough to make a younger buck back off. During the rut the normally mild-mannered chamois show a vicious side. Dominant males battle younger ones sometimes to the death. Old males may also be killed. Male chamois who live in forests regularly rub trees with their antlers to display territory. This results in an accumulation of resin on the antlers, helping scientists identify the specific habitat of an animal. See also: Baal Cycle - Myths of Ba'al Hadad Ninsun - Lady of the Wild Cows Horse in Dreams - Meaning of Horses Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Young sexually mature males who escape the wrath of the dominant bucks are evicted from the herd. They spend the next several years wandering the mountains and hills. A male comes to his prime at eight to nine years old, time to claim a herd of his own. See also: Ornithomancy - Prophecy by the Birds Sprites: Ethereal Creatures of Faerie Kaska - Mountain Raiders of Anatolia Back to Top