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Yumuktepe (Yümüktepe Höyük) is a Neolithic mound site active from c. 6300 BCE to Byzantine times. On the turquoise Turkish Mediterranean, in the Stone Age and later Yumuktepe is a vital trade and manufacturing center. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Karaca Dağ Volcano: Mountain of Life Taurus Mountains: Bronze Age Bounty Red Ocher (Ochre) Ancient Pigments Sylvia Rose Books The Yumuktepe Höyük has been home to many civilizations. Skulls of the Hittite period and seals from the Neolithic period are unearthed. Originally the town is called Elipru. READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series Within the city limits of Mersin, Turkey, Yumuktepe is like many tell or mound sites, similar in construction, each with unique features and history decreed by culture and environment. Other amazing Neolithic centers are Çayönü Tepesi (Cayonu Tepe) and Kültepe (Kanesh). Kanesh (Kultepe): Kārum City of Trade Çatalhöyük (Catalhoyuk) Neolithic Anatolia Çayönü Tepesi: Blood of the Earth Sylvia Rose Books In a mound or tell site, each generation literally builds upon the previous. At Yumuktepe 23 levels are found so far. One of the most famous Neolithic mound sites is Çatalhöyük, about 280 km (174 mi) to the northwest, with 18 levels of habitation uncovered and still digging. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Levels of occupation of Yumuktepe date from c. 6300 BCE through to the medieval world. According to archaeologist John Garstang, earliest tools unearthed in excavations are of stone or ceramic. Bone and antler tools are also found at Neolithic sites. Lake Van: Fate of a Primeval Salt Lake Mt Nemrut Volcano: Nature & Lore Neolithic Salt & Brine Works Europe Sylvia Rose Books Flint and obsidian are favorite Neolithic materials for knives, daggers and arrowheads. Flint is well suited for hand axes and hide scrapers. Flint tools carve immense blocks of limestone from a quarry to be used at Gobekli Tepe. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries While obsidian is popular in ritual use, it's also incorporated into weapons, causing savage damage. Early Mesoamericans use obsidian as sacrificial knives. Both obsidian and flint fracture to a sharp edge and are valuable trade items in the Stone Age. Obsidian: Ancient Volcanic Black Glass Baltic Amber - Gold of the North Casting the Bones - Astragalomancy Sylvia Rose Books Both agriculture and animal husbandry are economic activities in Yumuktepe. The people keep and herd sheep, goats, pigs and cattle. The mound habitation layer dating to c. 4500 BCE yields remains of one of the earliest fortifications, indicating an ancient fortress. READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series According to Italian archaeologist Isabella Caneva, during the Chalcolithic or Copper Age (c. 5000 - 3500 BCE) a copper blast furnace is used in Yumuktepe. Copper is an important industry. Cyprus is a prolific source, and native copper is also found in the Taurus Mountains. Emerald Tablet - Sacred Alchemy Text Hattusa Green Stone - Mystic Secrets Oldest Cattle Cult 6000 BCE - Arabia Sylvia Rose Books The earliest record of a sailing ship is on a c. 3500 Egyptian vase. Seafaring cultures row or paddle watercraft even after the sail is developed. Trade is among the first forms of human interaction. Neolithic trade routes clear the way for later merchants and travelers. Neolithic trade and production centers include Mount Nemrut (obsidian) and Solnitsata off the Black Sea (salt) in today's Bulgaria. Baltic amber appears in Spain by the 4th millennium BCE. Other trade route items are olives, oil, metals, beads, pottery, baskets, fabrics and dye. Milk & Dairy: Ancient Lactose Gene Horse Burials & Sacrifice: Ancient World Hünenburg: Bronze Age European Trade Hub Above: "Storage objects represent some of the principle attributes of the Neolithic period. The Yumuktepe site is well known thanks to these remnants of massive surface storage structures made of burnt clay." - Isabella Caneva According to Caneva, a pottery find at the site has significant meaning. She explains, “There were many potteries inside the building. These pieces belonged to one type of product. These bowls are all the same, mass-produced. There were around 700 bowls in this building. This is a big place for a standard family or restaurant. We think that this is a place where public or ceremonial meals are held or food is distributed to the public.” Dniester River Neolithic Civilization Cyprus: Prehistoric Humans & Pygmy Hippos Ugarit Royal Palace: Romancing the Ruins Sylvia Rose Books In this case it could be a sacrificial area, where the sacrificed animal, such as goat, boar or bull, is eaten by the inhabitants in a feast. These are the early festivals. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Methods of extracting copper from ore sources are well known by the 4th millennium BCE and vital to the growing use and development of copper and copper alloys. Lake Van, in today's Armenia, is an important ancient source of copper ore. Sacrifice of the Male: Temple at Uppsala Rise of the Phoenicians - Early Years Thrace - Warfare, Slavery & Music Sylvia Rose Books In pre-Bronze Age Mesopotamia and Anatolia, metallurgists hone their skills to produce pots, trays, saucers, weapons and drinking vessels. Anatolian smiths are the first to extract iron from ore, and know the secret of making steel from c. 1800 BCE. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Like many Hittite holdings, Yumuktepe comes under attack by Sea Peoples c. 1200 BCE. The Assyrians of Upper Mesopotamia take advantage of weakness caused by marauding Sea Peoples, along with complications of extended drought and recent seismic activity. Cilicia (Kazziwatna) - Bounty & Booty Cypriot Copper & Ancient Cyprus Lukka: Bronze Age Warrior Sea People Sylvia Rose Books Assyria is one of the few nations almost unaffected by the late Bronze Age military and rogue attacks, and subsequent collapse of empires. Sworn enemies of the Hittites, they are quick to invade Hittite holdings as power dramatically shifts. During the Roman Empire, the town Zephyrium to the south of Yumuktepe is founded. Emperor Hadrian (r. 117–138) renames the city Hadrianapolis. In the early Byzantine Empire, the nearby settlement of Soli, 10 km (6.2 mi) to the west, increases its influence. Baltic Aetsi & the Roman Amber Texts Slavic River Spirits & Roman Gods Wine God Liber: Liberty & Liberal Libation Sylvia Rose Books Yumuktepe subsequently experiences a decline in its former status. Today Yumuktepe has moved inland. Although Yumuktepe is once a coastal settlement, the silt carried by the nearby Efrenk River builds upon the coast at the mouth of the river. At first the river runs from the Taurus Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea at Yumuktepe. The mound is now 2.5 km (1.6 mi) north of the Mediterranean shore. The Shekelesh - Bronze Age Mysteries Queen Eleanor & the Calamitous Crusade Kermes Insect & Ancient Red Pigments Sylvia Rose Books This natural phenomenon also appears in the city of Ur, Mesopotamia, as the city gradually moves inland from prehistoric times. Founded on the coast of the Persian Gulf in c. 3800 BCE, it's about 313 km (c. 195 mi) inshore today. Saffron - Most Precious Ancient Spice Byblos Vibrant Port City: the Egyptians Ashur - Tutelary God of Assur, Assyria Back to Top

Karaca Dağ (Karacadağ, Karaca Dag) is a primeval shield volcano in today's SE Turkey. Migrating birds disperse countless seeds for abundant greenery. The mountain is the source of life-giving waters and thought by some to be the legendary Garden of Eden. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Mt Nemrut Volcano: Nature & Lore Çayönü Tepesi: Blood of the Earth Alp or Alps: Elves & Alpine Mountains Sylvia Rose Books A shield volcano, Karaca Dağ is about 130 km (80 mi ) NE of Gobelki Tepe, at the hazy border of ancient Mesopotamia and Anatolia. Gently sloping, its highest point is at 1952 m (6404 ft). First homeland of the Sumerians, it may be the mythical Garden of Eden. READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series The volcano starts to form in the upper Miocene era, reacting to pressure of the Arabian plate on the Anatolian Plate. Although its last major eruption is c. 100,000 years ago, Landsat imagery identifies later basaltic lava flows of only a few thousand years old. Megaliths & Building at Gobekli Tepe Volcanic Wipeout - 1600 BCE Eruption of Thera Seven Metals of Antiquity - Metallurgy Sylvia Rose Books In a shield volcano, eruptions are fluid lava streams of basalt, each building on the ones before, much like Neolithic mound settlements. Basaltic lava can flow far from the vent, making shield volcanoes wider than they are tall. Over 90% of all volcanic rock is basalt. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Basalt is made of oxides of silicon, iron, magnesium, potassium, aluminum, titanium and calcium. It often contains precious metals. Due to its finely grained composition basalt is used as a touchstone. Basalt is especially known for massive fantastic formations. Sacred Cave Trapeza (Kronion), Crete Anqi Sheng & the Elixir of Immortality Zagros Mountains - the Way to Kur Sylvia Rose Books The northeast slopes o Karaca Dag, facing today's Diyarbakır, are ideal for agriculture due to their thin soil, compared to the coarse stony components of other areas. The mountain is extensively used for livestock grazing. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research have successfully identified the genetically common ancestor of 68 modern types of cereal. The plant still grows wild on the slopes of Mount Karaca. Taurus Mountains: Bronze Age Bounty Horses, Alps & Amazons: the Caucasus Chamois - Alpine Wild Nature & Lore Sylvia Rose Books Cultivated as early as 12,000 years ago, einkorn wheat is believed to be the first crop grown by humans. Agriculture booms with the "Neolithic Revolution" after the last Ice Age, c. 10,000 BCE. Humans start to settle down, raise crops and domesticate animals. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Wheat, bitter vetch and chickpeas first appear on Karacadag. Grapes and olives are widely cultivated. Olives originate in Turkey c. 3800 BCE before spreading throughout the Mediterranean. Grapes are first grown between the Black Sea and today's Iran. Einkorn Wheat - First Domestic Crops Çatalhöyük (Catalhoyuk) Neolithic Anatolia Ancient Grains: Wheat, Barley, Millet, Rice Sylvia Rose Books Sheep and goats are domesticated here c. 8000 BCE, followed by pigs and cattle c. 5800 BCE. Karaca Dağ is considered the place of origin of ancient Sumerians, who migrate to the Tigris and Euphrates river basin by c. 4500 - 4000 BCE. Karaca Dağ is densely covered with forest vegetation such as cedar, hazel and pine until c. 40-50 years ago. The lush and gentle mountain slopes easily form the basis of a mythical paradise. Soil is fertile, waters flow fresh, skies and forests are alive with birds and beasts. Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) Nature & Lore Great Brown Bear - Nature, Spirituality & Lore Giant Cinnamon Birds of Arabia Sylvia Rose Books Wildlife includes red fox, European hare, beech marten, Eurasian badger, wolf and hedgehog. The people of the area today are settled Kurds and Turks, and nomadic Arab herders tending sheep, cows and goats. READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series The armies of Persia, Constantinople and Rome march through this area in antiquity and medieval times. To c. 1200 BCE the region is occupied by Hittites. Also called Mt. Masia, Karaca Dag gives this name to the blue-violet Iris masia which blooms upon its slopes. Mad Honey - What's the Buzz? Nigella Sativa: Black Seed of Healers Kanesh (Kultepe): Kārum City of Trade Sylvia Rose Books Streams coming from Karaca Dağ are the most important area water sources for the region. A large number of springs emerge on the southern side of Karaca Dağ and to the north, including: The river Khabur originates on the SW slope and flows into the Euphrates. The original main source of the river Euphrates is Camcayi Creek on Karaka Dag. The river Tigris initially has four sources on Karaca Dağ. Sanliurfa and specifically the Karaca Dağ area produce bottled spring waters. Dnieper (Dnipro) River: Early Humans Baltic Amber - Gold of the North Solnitsata - Neolithic Salt Trade Town Sylvia Rose Books Karaca Dag is on an important bird migration route, the Mediterranean-Black Sea Flyway. Birds native and migrational include bald eagle, red-tailed hawk, peregrine falcon, herons, pelicans, egrets, ravens, woodpeckers, chukar partridge, quail, swans and ducks. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Some theologians believe Karaca Dag may be: the landing point of Noah's Ark after the Great Flood of Yahweh the Garden of Eden After the Ice Age - Neolithic Builders Sacrifice of the Male: Temple at Uppsala Yahweh: Warrior Origins, Name & Lore Sylvia Rose Books Among other things the first is based on the variety of animal relief carvings found at Gobekli Tepe, the oldest known megalithic cult site; and, the vast variety of flora and fauna inhabiting the mountain. The second refers to Sumerian origin myths. God Enki waters the town Dilmun, at the east coast of the Persian Gulf, by request of mother goddess Ninhursag. The role of Karaca Dag is unclear. Migratory bird corridors are the source of many Garden of Eden theories. Stymphalian Birds & Greek Heroics Rise of Pan: Fertility Goat God Péh₂usōn Enki (Ea) God of Water & Creation Sylvia Rose Books Closer to the east Black Sea, another volcanic mountain, Nemrut, is said to be named after King Nimrod. Not far from Nemrut in the same volcanic zone is Mt Ararat, another suggested resting site for the legendary Ark. Nimrod: Lord of Chaos & Creation Silver - Queen of Precious Metals Nature Spirits of German Mythology Back to Top

Çayönü Tepesi (Cayonu) is a Neolithic settlement in SE Turkey. From c. 8630-6800 BCE it's a site of innovation, agriculture and human sacrificial rites. Cayonu is about 10 days' walk from the oldest megalithic cult center Gobekli Tepe (c. 9600-8200 BCE). READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Oldest Cult Megaliths - Gobekli Tepe Solnitsata - Neolithic Salt Trade Town Bosporus: Black Sea Nature & Greek Myth Sylvia Rose Books It would be faster by donkey, but they're not domesticated until c. 4800 BCE. Aurochs or cattle domestication appears by c. 8200 BCE. A progressive center in Neolithic times, Çayönü is known for agriculture, early livestock breeding and evidence of human sacrifice. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Built on a tributary of the upper Tigris River, Çayönü Tepesi shows developments in animal husbandry and selective seeding. Signs of domestic innovation include terrazzo floors and woven cloth. Female figurines are also discovered, possibly votive or protective. Ashvamedha - Sacred Horse Sacrifice Oldest Cattle Cult 6000 BCE - Arabia Gnomes: Earth Spirits of Renaissance Mythology Sylvia Rose Books HIstorian Robert Braidwood writes "... cultivated emmer along with cultivated einkorn was present from the earliest sub-phase." Emmer wheat and einkorn are two of the earliest crops known to humans. A tell or mound of settlements, Cayonu has distinct levels of occupation, building and architecture. Each stage is built atop the previous. Tells are popular habitation locations in Anatolia and other areas and give archaeologists chronological cross-sections of site use. Einkorn Wheat - First Domestic Crops Emmer Wheat - First Domestic Crops Çatalhöyük (Catalhoyuk) Neolithic Anatolia Sylvia Rose Books The six building levels are: Round huts (c. 10,500 - 9000 BCE) Grill-planned buildings (c. 9000 - 8500 BCE) Channel Buildings (c. 8500 - 8200 BCE) Cobble-paved buildings (c. 8200 - 7500 BCE) Cell-planned buildings (c. 7500 - 7000 BCE) Round huts (c. 10,500 - 9000 BCE) The first buildings of Cayonu are single room structures as circles or squares with rounded corners. The structures are wattle-and daub huts with sunken floors of plaster. No communal buildings or temples are evident. Castor Oil, Wigs & Death in Ancient Egypt Cattle Goddesses & the Cosmic Cow Neolithic Nubia & Early Egyptians Sylvia Rose Books A composite building method, the wattle and daub technique uses materials at hand. A woven lattice of wooden twigs or strips, the wattle, is daubed with a mix of wet soil, sand, sticky clay, straw and animal dung. Wattle and daub has been a practical construction method for thousands of years. Evidence for wattle and daub fire pits, storage bins and buildings appears in Egypt by the 5th millennium BCE, predating the use of mud brick. Garnets - Gemstones of Blood and Life Papyrus (C. papyrus): Sacred Reeds of Aaru Tumuli (Tumulus): Bronze Age Burial Mounds Sylvia Rose Books Aceramic vessels, bowls and containers made without pottery, are also found from this period. Aceramic materials can include bark, basketry, gourds, stone and leather or animal hide. Clay figurines of animals and a few people are found at this stage. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Most artifacts are chipped stone tools of flint and obsidian. Obsidian is especially valued due to its sharp edges, and is often found as blades of ritual daggers. Horn and bone tools are also widely used. Obsidian: Volcanic Black Glass of Gods Black Pigments of Ancient Artisans Ninsun - Lady of the Wild Cows Sylvia Rose Books Domestic animals are first evident in the final stage of the this phase. Pigs are the first domesticated, followed by sheep. Previously, bones of wild game are abundant, attesting to reliance on hunting. Grill-planned buildings (c. 9000 - 8500 BCE) In the grill-planned stage, rectangular houses appear, oriented north-south. The houses are divided into three sub-sections. The largest room is at the north end. It resembles a grill from above and has an unknown function. Lammašaga: Sumerian Angel Goddess Bashmu (Bašmu): Voracious Serpent Dragon German Folklore - Irrwurz or Mad Root Sylvia Rose Books Grillwork is built into the foundation. According to Schirmer 1990: "The grills are composed of a series of parallel linear stone foundations, carefully built of small stones and no more than 15 cm high, which supports an elevated plastered floor, keeping it insulated, ventilated and dry." The grill phase is superimposed directly on the round hut sub-phase. One large building seems to be created for special use such as rituals or community gatherings. It features a flagstone floor of limestone. Stone floors tell of a settled existence. See also: Kulla - God of Bricks & Building Ephedra - Oldest Medical Stimulant Herb White Pigments of Ancient Artisans Sylvia Rose Books Channel Buildings (c. 8500 - 8200 BCE) - The Skull Building The constructions have a type of paved floor, contained by parallel drainage channels. One of these is the Skull Building. Housing evolves from the grill phase where grill-like foundation walls are a part of the floor and the previous ventilation openings become the channels. The skull building yields about 70 skulls from small adjoining chambers. Headless skeletons are later found. The main room features a cut and polished stone block or altar about a ton in weight. See also: Lammašaga: Sumerian Angel Goddess Neolithic Skull Cults & Ritual Skulls Lucifer, Venus & Anti-Gods of Mythology Sylvia Rose Books A large flint knife is uncovered nearby. Microscopic analysis of the smooth surface of the altar shows animal and human blood at least 9000 years old. This may be a building for ritual blood sacrifice, a common practice in various cultures. Human sacrifice is presumed by blood analysis at the scene. Sacrifice of humans can be for fertility of land and inhabitants, as part of an elite burial rite or to please a god. Figs - Food of the Ancient World Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Dniester River Neolithic Civilization Sylvia Rose Books One of the later human sacrifice locations is the Temple at Uppsala, Sweden, where males of every species, including humans, are abundantly sacrificed. The practice continues to 1087 AD, when the temple is burned down as part of the Christianization of Scandinavia. Human sacrifice exists in China by c. 2300 BCE. In ancient Egypt King Djer (c. 3050 BCE) has 318 servants sacrificed and buried in his tomb, with a further 269 buried in enclosures surrounding his tomb. In ancient Japan, maidens are buried alive beneath building pillars. See also: Butzemann, Witches & Nyx - Scare 'em Good Anubis: Jackal-Headed God of Egypt Hünenburg: Bronze Age European Trade Hub Sylvia Rose Books In the ancient near East many religious rituals, including human sacrifice, serve an agricultural purpose. Blood mixed with soil improves fertility. In some Mesopotamian royal burials, servants, attendants and musicians commit ritual suicide or may be brutally killed. Cobble-paved buildings (c. 8200 - 7500 BCE) The fourth occupation level has stone foundations. It's built of formed cell style units with walls of mud brick. Women of Alchemy - Mary the Jewess The Mystic Victorian - Fortune Telling Horse Burials & Sacrifice: Ancient World Sylvia Rose Books Cell-planned buildings (c. 7500 - 7000 BCE) Buildings of the cell type are larger than buildings of the previous phases and are well preserved site-wide. Houses and constructions may have two stories. The second floor is of mud bricks with a flat walled-in roof. After 7000 BCE ambitious larger structures are found. One of the main discoveries is the 12 × 9 m (40 x 30 ft) Terrazzo Building. The elaborate terrazzo floor is made of white and red chalk stones embedded in chalk mortar or lime, and polished. The stones create a white and red stripe pattern. Terrazzo Floors & Neolithic Masons Blood Sacrifice, Twin Brothers & Creation Victorian Trends - Stripes to Taxidermy Sylvia Rose Books Like the Skull Building, this large structure features a type of altar with stylized human face in raised relief. A link to the skull cult at Gobekli Tepe is suggested due to the nature of the Gobekli site. Created largely as a worship center, Gobekli and adjoining limestone quarry is used and worked by early humans. It features the oldest megaliths known to date. After the Ice Age - Neolithic Builders Silver - Queen of Precious Metals Sacrifice of the Male: Temple at Uppsala Sylvia Rose Books The Cayonu settlement shows the time of transition from hunting and gathering peoples to the domestication of animals, animal husbandry and cultivation of plants such as wheats and barley. Several stages of cattle management appear at Cayonu. Remains of cattle in the earliest levels of habitation make up 20% of the mammalian remains. By 7500 BC, cattle reach maximum abundance at the site. See also: Apis - Sacred Fertility Bull of Egypt Bull of Heaven - Inanna vs Gilgamesh Cult of the Bull - Prehistoric Aurochs Sylvia Rose Books The wild cows of Eurasia are the massive Bos primigenius or aurochs. Decrease in cattle size is evident only around 7000 BCE. It's thought the pig (Sus scrofa or wild boar) is first domesticated at Çayönü. Genetic studies of emmer wheat, the precursor of most current wheat species, show the first domestication of the crop on the slopes of Mount Karaca (Karaca Dağ). The great volcano is under a day's walk from Çayönu. It's thought to be the "Eden" of the ancient Sumerians. Ancient Grains: Wheat, Barley, Millet, Rice Lord Rodent (Ninkilim) Sumerian Pest God Women of the Wild Hunt: Holle, Diana, Frigg Sylvia Rose Books Karaca Dağ (Karacadağ) is a shield volcano, a low-lying type formed by millennia of lava flow. Its active time of eruption is about 100,000 years ago. In the nutritious volcanic soil the genetically common ancestor of 68 contemporary types of cereal still grows as a wild plant. It's also the place of origin of major crops such as chickpeas and lentils. Soil richness comes from volcanic lava and deep layers of sedimentary stone high in organic compounds. The slopes provide lush abundant grazing for livestock. Red Ocher (Ochre) Ancient Pigments Queen Eleanor & the Calamitous Crusade Mušḫuššu - Snake Dragon Animal of Marduk Sylvia Rose Books Water streams originating from Karaca Dağ feed both the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The south slope of the shield volcano is the source of the River Khabur. Mineral water from several groundwater sites in the Karaca Dag area is sold bottled in stores today. Several hundred people live in Cayönü as the site progresses through the ages, and are believed to be the first farmers. They plant and experiment with crops such as flax, yielding the first known fabric, linen. Linen, Hemp & Cotton - Fabrics of Ancient Egypt German Myth - Harvest Spirits Fertility Rituals - the Sacrificial God Sylvia Rose Books The Cayönüsians are also considered the first to domesticate sheep and goats. Initially they domesticate pigs. The wild boar is already a favorite prey animal for hunters human and otherwise. Cayönü inhabitants are known to have mined and worked copper. Artifacts such as beads, hooks, awls and pins date to 8 200 - 7 500 BCE. In Neolithic times Cayönü native copper comes from an ore deposit at Ergani Maden 20 km (12.4 mi) away. Copper: Ruddy Metal of Myth & Magic Eye of Ra Egypt - Wrath of the Woman Bizilla - Shining Love Goddess Sukkal Sylvia Rose Books Metal smiths at Çayönü use cold-hammering techniques along with application of heat between shapings. Besides working with copper, artisans create works of the green copper rock malachite, including hundreds of disc beads. Debris and other evidence of malachite processing is also found in Cayönü Tepesi. Dating to 8000 BCE, most activity is found in the court yards of buildings from the grill-plane architecture phase. Both malachite and copper are important Neolithic trade goods. Cypriot Copper & Ancient Cyprus Hashamili - Metal Work & Smith God Hattusa Green Stone - Mystic Secrets Sylvia Rose Books Copper can be extracted from malachite. One ancient extraction procedure involves roasting the rock, which decomposes malachite into black copper oxide. The copper(II) oxide is then thermally reduced with carbon (charcoal) to give copper metal. See also: Ullikummi - Rock Monster of Legend The Igigi - Why Humans are Created Ḫulbazizi - Ancient Exorcism Ritual Back to Top

Çatalhöyük (Catal hoyuk, Catalhoyuk) is a vibrant center for commerce, agricultural development and innovation. A Stone Age settlement in today's Turkey, by c. 7000 BCE it's an innovative culture based on metallurgy, farming, dyes or pigments and trade. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure After the Ice Age - Neolithic Builders Oldest Cult Megaliths - Gobekli Tepe Figs - Food of the Ancient World Sylvia Rose Books The area is first occupied by Neolithic tribes in clan groups, centered on agriculture. By 7400 BCE, the settlement of Çatalhöyük has evolved into an industrious urban landscape of permanent whitewashed mud brick buildings. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Çatalhöyük is the oldest and among the most advanced of Neolithic habitations. As an active site of commerce Çatalhöyük exists from c. 7500 - 6400 BCE. Items traded on Neolithic routes include metals, obsidian, beads, bitumen, honey, pottery and salt. Honey Bees (Apidae): Nature & Myth Bitumen - Tarry Trade in Perfect Pitch Solnitsata - Neolithic Salt Trade Town Sylvia Rose Books The city reaches its height c. 7000 BCE. It's noted for carefully made figurines. Mostly female, they're carved and molded from various media including marble, blue and brown limestone, schist, calcite, basalt, alabaster and clay. Female Venus figures are often discovered in storage vats of grain, as fertility or protector deities. She may also occupy the Mother Goddess role common to early people. No definite temples or shrines to any gods have ever been found. See also: Copper - Ruddy Metal of Myth and Magic Obsidian: Ancient Volcanic Black Glass Sinope: Poison, Honey, Greeks & Clay Sylvia Rose Books Although a male deity seems to exist, female statues take precedence. The female majority ends after Level Six of the main excavation with no further evidence goddess worship or matriarchal connections. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Flax is one of the earliest fiber plants grown and cultivated. Its long fibers are processed through various methods such as soaking and beating. Flax is used to make linen, the first known textile. It's also beloved by later Egyptians. Linen, Hemp & Cotton - Fabrics of Ancient Egypt Woad, the People's Blue: Ancient Pigments Red Madder: Organic Ancient Colors Sylvia Rose Books About 7400 BCE the Çatalhöyük population is 3500 - 8000, later up to 10,000 people. Inhabitants live in mudbrick houses. There are no streets. The settlement is composed of domestic dwellings with large numbers of buildings clustered tightly together. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Çatalhöyük is a mound site, one of many in Anatolia and other regions. Habitations are built atop each other, forming artificial hills on the terrain. Eighteen levels of previous settlements have so far been found by archaeologists. Dniester River Neolithic Civilization Giant Cinnamon Birds of Arabia Neolithic Europe - Danube Valley Culture Sylvia Rose Books Society seems egalitarian, with men and women having equal status. Pottery and obsidian are the major materials for vessels and weapons. Obsidian tools are for personal use, or in trade for items such as Mediterranean sea shells and flint from Syria. No footpaths, alleys or streets exist between dwellings. Rooftops serve as streets and walkways. Most homes have access through ceiling holes, ceiling doors or doors on the side of the houses, some reached only by ladders and stairs. See also: Battle Axe - Burial, Settlement, Culture Immortal - Quest for the Elixir of Life Çayönü Tepesi: Blood of the Earth Sylvia Rose Books Typical houses have two main rooms and side rooms for storage. Walls are plastered smooth. A ceiling hole lets out the smoke from the fire, which is usually to the south of the house. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures The residents of Çatalhöyük are very clean, keeping their waste and sewage areas away from the main residences. Corpses, however, they like to keep close. Interior walls are painted in whitewash or light tones. Home decor may include multiple bull skulls. Cult of the Bull - Prehistoric Aurochs Oldest Cattle Cult 6000 BCE - Arabia Cattle Goddesses & the Cosmic Cow Sylvia Rose Books Rooftops are also sites for socializing or gathering for events, a type of plaza. Later, communal ovens are built on the roofs. The houses are sometimes deconstructed and rebuilt for new occupants. The people of Çatalhöyük grow a variety of foods including wheat, barley, peas, almonds and pistachio. They domesticate sheep and start on cattle. Pottery and the volcanic glass obsidian are plentiful and become major exports. Apis - Sacred Fertility Bull of Egypt Pistachio: Turpentine, Resin & Nuts Emmer Wheat - First Domestic Crops Sylvia Rose Books Art abounds. Beads and jewelry are created by artisans. Figurines and murals appear through the settlement on interior and exterior walls, including men with erect phalluses and animals such as Aurochs. At Çatalhöyük are the earliest signs of bull worship. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Indications of trade with Mediterranean groups include sea shells and Syrian flint. Flint is known as a fire stone, and for keeping a sharp edge in tools and weapons. Çatalhöyük becomes a center for fabric dyes. The oxide mineral hematite is used in red colorants. Earth Mother - Goddess of Life Hematite: Magnetic Iron Oxide Red Poison Hemlock: Herbology & Lore Sylvia Rose Books Level VI at Çatalhöyük is the earliest known site of copper smelting, c. 6500 BCE. Local smelting of copper metal by c. 1500 years is the first recorded evidence of the procedure. In funerary ritual, red ochre is most commonly used sprinkled on bodies of adults and children. This is a tradition among several Neolithic cultures. Cinnabar or mercury sulfide is found on male bodies, and blue/green (possibly verdigris) is associated with females. Red Ocher (Ochre) Ancient Pigments Verdigris: Volatile Blue Green Pigment Sulfur - Treasure of the Underworld Sylvia Rose Books While temples aren't obvious, bull skulls with horns (bucrania) are preserved in an 8th millennium BCE sanctuary. They're the earliest known remnants from the cross-cultural Cult of the Bull. The Bull motif survives in various mythologies including Hurrian and Hittite mythology as Seri and Hurri (Day and Night), the bulls who carry the weather god Teshub on their backs or in his chariot, and graze on the ruins of cities. Wine God Liber: Liberty & Liberal Libation Ḫurri & Šeri - Hurrian Divine Bulls Alchemist Dippel: the Frankenstein Files Sylvia Rose Books People of Çatalhöyük bury their dead in the village proper. Bodies are found in pits under the floors of houses, beneath hearths, installed beneath platforms in the main rooms or even under beds. Sometimes a head is removed and replaced, possibly for a ritual. The living dwell very close to the dead. The corpses are tightly flexed before burial, often inhumated in baskets or wrapped up in reed mats. See also: Dromedary Camel: Animals of Ancient Arabia Figs - Food of the Ancient World Ninurta (Ninĝirsu) - God of the People Sylvia Rose Books Some bones show they might have been outside a considerable time before inhumation. The people know at some point, another level of residences will be built over those of their own generations, just like the strata of rocks. Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Before the Vikings - Nordic Bronze Age Anqi Sheng & the Elixir of Immortality Back to Top

A prehistoric species of cattle, Aurochs (Bos primigenius) rules Europe and much of Asia in the ancient world. The last known Aurochs is killed in 16th century Poland. Taller than a man, with thick chest and death-dealing horns the Aurochs is a powerful entity. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure See also: Iron Age - Metallurgy & Metal Magic Anatolia - Neolithic Town of Çatalhöyük Botanical Alchemy - White Dead Nettle Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In the Neolithic, aurochs exist throughout Eurasia and North Africa. The prehistoric Cult of the Bull is one of the earliest forms of widespread nature worship, along with the Bear culture. The Bull is a creature of abundance, associated with virility, fertility, gods and kings. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure A symbol of masculinity, Bull represents the Sun and the divinity therein, power, dominance, wealth, wisdom, protection and life itself. The Bull takes energy from cosmic forces, passionate nature and the ferocity of divine solar fire. See also: Creation, Cattle & the Cosmic Cow Hathor: Cosmic Cow Goddess of Ancient Egypt Crocodilopolis - Sobek Crocodile God Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books He relates to the rhythm of the Earth and his horns represent the crescent moon of the sky. He's often found in the company of birds. Some believe the sperm of the bull runs through his bones. The earliest signs of bull worship or sacrifice come from the prospering Neolithic town Çatalhöyük in Anatolia. Before the Bronze Age the Aurochs are plentiful in the area and regarded as sacred animals. See also: Ancient Greece - the Mycenean Invasion Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Nature Spirits of German Mythology Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The wild ancestor of domestic cattle, the Aurochs is part of the Pleistocene megafauna of c. 50,000 -10,000 BCE. Other animals at the time include mammoths, saber-toothed cats, woolly rhinoceros and American lions. Many mega-fauna die out during the Great Extinction. Aurochs appear in Paleolithic cave paintings, petroglyphs of the Neolithic, relief works of ancient Egypt and Bronze Age figurines. The great horns of the Aurochs, up to the length of a man's arm, are used by early people as trophies, offerings and drinking horns. See also: Before the Vikings - Nordic Bronze Age Battle Axe - Burial, Settlement, Culture Bronze Age Cultures - Trzciniec Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books A feast of Aurochs meat is a Neolithic and tribal version of the community barbecue. Everyone gathers for a great banquet of divine bull. The Bull is a sacrifice worthy of the Gods, an earthly representative or manifestation of the primal god himself. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Blood of the Bull, the essence of life, flows into the earth, as if the Mother Goddess takes the Bull as husband, to produce abundance such as crops, wild and domestic animals for the use of humans. Blood does nourish the soil, as use of blood meal fertilizer shows. See also: Egyptian Blue Faience - Ceramic Glass Bronze Age Afterlife & Burial Beliefs Amber Trade - Bronze Age on the Baltic Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The wild aurochs is first domesticated by humans c. 8500 BCE. The two major domestication areas are Anatolia and the region of today's Pakistan. According to DNA tests, today's cattle all come from as few as 80 animals domesticated from wild Aurochs in the Near East. Cattle were used for commerce and barter and set a standard of pricing and specific barter value. See also: Alchemy Symbols - Circle, Snake & Lion Phosphorus: Element of Fatal Fascination What is the Philosopher's Stone? Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books By the early Bronze Age, around 3300 BCE, the Bull Apis gains favor in Egypt. He's worshipped in Memphis as a living god. By this time, domestic cattle groups are forming new identities. The wild Aurochs still roams the northern steppes. Aurochs form herds in winter and break up into smaller groups or individuals when the weather warms up. Bulls can fight to the death for dominance of territory and breeding rights. Wild Aurochs are subject to attacks by wolves or bears. See also: Hathor: Cosmic Cow Goddess of Ancient Egypt Creation, Cattle & the Cosmic Cow Ancient Greek Cultures: People of Minoa Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle A healthy adult is too difficult for predators to kill. Wolves try to separate a calf from its mother in a strategy attack or to dispatch a weak adult. Bears will take a calf if they can. Predators might follow a herd in snow season, waiting for opportunity. Cattle are bigger in ancient times. Only during the Middle Ages, after centuries of animal husbandry and adaption, do they reach their current size. Aurochs decline and extinction correspond with habitational spread of early humans. See also: Primeval Deities: Goddess of the Dawn Book of the Heavenly Cow - Myths of Egypt Khet, the Body: Death Rites of Ancient Egypt Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Today the largest cattle are from the Chianina breed of Italy. Adult males are known to weigh up to 3300 lb (1500 kg). See also: Apis - Sacred Fertility Bull of Egypt Egyptian Blue - First Synthetic Color Sistrum (Sistra) Music: Ancient Egypt Back to Top

Cleopatra the Physician is an early Greek medical writer and author of a manual entitled Cosmetics. Six fragments of her Cosmetics survive as references by later medical writers. She's also credited with gynecological research and writings. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Emerald Tablet - Sacred Alchemy Text Ancient Egypt Remedies: Ebers Papyrus Aetsi: Boars, Snakes & Baltic Amber Sylvia Rose Books Nothing is known about her life, but her work can be dated to the first century CE. She's immortalized in citations of her writing, all from Cosmetics. At the time of her research the Hippocratic philosophies of the four humors are the fundament of Greek medical science. READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series Cleopatra the Physician is active during a vibrant intellectual period triggered by the late Ptolemaic era in Egypt. Successor to Alexander the Great, Ptolemy is a Macedonian Greek. Egyptian Alchemy - Power of Eternity Al-Mi'raj: Unicorn Hare of Arab Myth Thrace - Tribal Mythology & Lore Sylvia Rose Books The Ptolemaic (c. 305 - 30 BCE) is the last dynasty in ancient Egypt, ending with the death of Queen Cleopatra VII. It's marked by close interaction and merging of Greek, Roman and Egyptian cultures. The Ptolemaic dynasty adopts Egyptian titles and iconography. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries The dynasty respects local traditions while also promoting Greek language and culture. After this period of enlightenment the Romans incorporate Egypt into their Empire. Roman medicine is strongly influenced by the work of the Greeks. Slavic River Spirits & Roman Gods Honey Mead: Most Ancient Ambrosia Arcadia - Greek Lands of Ancient Gods Sylvia Rose Books Cleopatra the Physician is quoted by the Greco-Roman Galen, and Byzantines Aetius of Amida and Paulus of Aegina. She's cited in work also called Cosmetics by the Greek Criton of Heraclea (Latin: Titus Statilius Crito), who's known as Crito. Crito is the chief physician of Roman Emperor Trajan (98 - 117 CE) in the campaign in Dacia, north of Thrace on the Black Sea to the Carpathian Mountains. The four books making up his writings are popular in the time of Galen. Ephedra - Oldest Medical Stimulant Herb Great Cormorant: Wild Birds & Mythic Beasts Herbs & Natural Remedies - Ancient Egypt Sylvia Rose Books Galen, or Claudius Galenus (c. 129 - 216), quotes her from Crito's writings. His records preserve works on the same subject by Heraclides of Tarentum of the Empiricist school, and other physicians or medical writers. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Cleopatra the Physician, like Cleopatra the Alchemist, has no relation to Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII (died 30 BCE). Cleopatra may have chosen this name as a pseudonym in reference to Queen Cleopatra, or it could be her real name. Cleopatra the Alchemist of Alexandria Book of the Heavenly Cow - Myths of Egypt Rise of Pan: Fertility Goat God Péh₂usōn Sylvia Rose Books The name Cleopatra (Κλεοπάτρα) is common in ancient Greece from the mid-7th century BCE and means glory of her father from κλέος (kléos, "glory") and πᾰτήρ (patḗr, "father"). Cleopatra the Physician is not the same person or people as Cleopatra the Alchemist. The word "cosmetics" comes from the Greek κοσμητικὴ τέχνη (kosmetikē tekhnē), meaning "technique of dress and ornament," from κοσμητικός (kosmētikos), "skilled in ordering or arranging," and from κόσμος (kosmos), meaning "order" and "ornament." Quest for Immortality - Qin Shi Huang Corycian Caves, Bee Nymphs & Greek Gods Casting the Bones - Astragalomancy Sylvia Rose Books In medicine, "cosmetics" is defined as the science dealing with elements or compounds meant to be applied on the human body or any of its parts. It refers to beautifying, cleansing, physical attractiveness; promoting and/or modifying the appearance. The Cosmetics is a manual offering advice and instructions for preparing remedies. She lists several cures for skin and scalp issues such as dandruff and baldness. Chamomile - Herbology & Folklore Nigella Sativa: Black Seed of Healers Soap & Medicine Herb of Ancients Sylvia Rose Books The cures use natural ingredients such as plant products and liquids including oil, wine, and vinegar. She mentions healing properties of lead and soda (ash). Animal products of medicinal value include roasted horse teeth, marrow from a stag, and mouse droppings. The surviving fragments of Cosmetics also include a recipe for perfumed soap and instructions for curling and dyeing hair. The writings of Cleopatra include lists of different weights and measures systems used in the Mediterranean. Kohl: Eye Beauty Magic of Ancients Is Cherry Laurel Poisonous? Elderberry Tree: Germanic Nature Lore Sylvia Rose Books The manual appears to be directed at an international audience of physicians. Greek doctors might provide both medicines and cosmetic products. They're largely based on plant and animal products and exploration of natural cures. Two works on genecology are also attributed to an author named Cleopatra: the Gynaecia, a recipe collection of cures for gynecologic issues, and the Pessaria, a list of twenty pessaries. Wandering Womb - Ancient Medicine Women of the Wild Hunt: Holle, Diana, Frigg Pomegranate - Food of the Ancients Sylvia Rose Books A removable device placed into the vagina, a pessary is designed to support areas of pelvic organ prolapse, or muscle weakness of the pelvic organs. It can be used to treat incontinence and as support for the bladder, rectum and/or uterus (womb). Both are preserved in Latin versions, though the preface of Gynaecia refers to its having been translated from Greek. It is possible the original Greek versions are initially part of the Cosmetics. The writings cover a broader range than suggested by the title. Tooth Worms of Ancient Mesopotamia Chinese Alchemical Elixir Poisoning Mad Honey - What's the Buzz? Sylvia Rose Books Cleopatra the Physician is mentioned in Jewish medical texts. With Cleopatra the Physician, another Cleopatra, Metrodora ("On the Diseases of Women") are the only two ancient women to have surviving medical texts attributed to them. Black Hellebore: Toxins, Health & Lore Saffron - Most Precious Ancient Spice Primeval Deities: Goddess of the Dawn Back to Top

The Emerald Tablet, also known as the Smaragdine Table or the Tabula Smaragdina, is a compact and cryptic Hermetic text. The Tablet is of great significance to alchemists. It's found in European and Islamic writings and often translated. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Alchemy: Science, Philosophy, Magic Elixir of Life: Alchemy & the Emperor Mercury (Quicksilver): Miracle Metal of Alchemy Sylvia Rose Books Despite its attribution to the legendary Hellenistic figure Hermes Trismegistus, the text of the Emerald Tablet initially appears in early medieval Arabic writings. The oldest dates back to the late eighth or early ninth century. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Emerald is the name given by Early Greeks and Egyptians to many types of stone including green jasper, green granite and nephrite jade. In the Middle Ages 'emerald' can refer to green glass. Emerald can confer a meaning such as precious, wondrous or rare. Phosphorus: Element of Fatal Fascination Electrum: Metal of Money & Myth Jade - Jadeite, Nephrite & Jade Roads Sylvia Rose Books Translated into Latin many times during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Emerald Tablet inspires a barrage of interpretations and commentaries. Medieval and early modern alchemists firmly link the Tablet to discovery of the philosophers' stone and creation of gold. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries The aims of European alchemy are to find a panacea to heal all disease; an elixir of youth or immortality; and the transmutation of base metals like lead into noble metals gold and silver. The origins of alchemy are found in the metallurgy of the early Bronze Age. Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Cassiterite - Tin Source of Ancients Verdigris: Volatile Blue Green Pigment Sylvia Rose Books Alchemy develops simultaneously in various countries without obvious contact. Different cultures influence its growth in certain directions. Some want to live forever and others just want to be rich. Alchemy is often synonymous with magic. The story of Rumpelstiltskin, in which a maiden must spin straw into gold, has a strong alchemical parallel. Sylvia Rose Books The Emerald Tablet gains popularity among nineteenth- and twentieth-century occultists and esotericists, who embrace the phrase "as above, so below" (a contemporary rendering of the second verse of the Tablet) as a frequently cited motto. Translation of the Emerald Tablet by Isaac Newton: Tis true without lying, certain and most true. That which is below is like that which is above and that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracle of one only thing. Elderberry Tree: Germanic Nature Lore Lapis Lazuli: Vibrant Blue Gem of Ancients Lead: Death Metal of Metallurgy Sylvia Rose Books And as all things have been and arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation. The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth is its nurse. The father of all perfection in the whole world is here. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth. Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry. What is the Philosopher's Stone? Orpiment - Painter's Golden Poison Myth & Metallurgy - Metals of Antiquity Sylvia Rose Books It ascends from the earth to the heaven and again it descends to the earth and receives the force of things superior and inferior. By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world and thereby all obscurity shall fly from you. Its force is above all force, for it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing. So was the world created. From this are and do come admirable adaptations where of the means is here in this. Sprites: Ethereal Creatures of Faerie Wine God Liber: Liberty & Liberal Libation Silver - Queen of Precious Metals Sylvia Rose Books Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world. That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished and ended. Emerald is the stone traditionally associated with Hermes. His metal is mercury, and so is his planet. The Emerald Tablet has been found in various ancient Arabic works in different versions. Giant Cinnamon Birds of Arabia Al-Mi'raj: Unicorn Hare of Arab Myth Lake Van: Fate of a Primeval Salt Lake Sylvia Rose Books The oldest version occurs as an appendix in a treatise believed to have been composed in the 9th century. It's known as the Book of the Secret of Creation, Kitâb sirr al-Halîka in Arabic. Although no Greek manuscript has been found, scholars suspect an original Greek text might have existed. Alchemical writers are fond of using pseudonyms as a way of disguising identities, sharing information amongst themselves and guarding secrets. Zis - Ancient Warrior Hero God Thrace Sulfur - Treasures of the Underworld Copper: Ruddy Metal of Myth & Magic Sylvia Rose Books Another version: Truth! Certainty! That in which there is no doubt! That which is above is from that which is below, and that which is below is from that which is above, working the miracles of one [thing]. House Spirits of Germanic Mythology Bronze Age Trade of Mesopotamia Nibelung - Heroes and Worms Sylvia Rose Books As all things were from One. Its father is the Sun and its mother the Moon. The Earth carried it in her belly, and the Wind nourished it in her belly, as Earth which shall become Fire. Feed the Earth from that which is subtle, with the greatest power. It ascends from the earth to the heaven and becomes ruler over that which is above and that which is below. Holmyard 1923 Cypriot Copper & Ancient Cyprus Obsidian: Ancient Volcanic Black Glass Khnum: Ram Headed Potter God Egypt Sylvia Rose Books Hermes Trismegistus is a legendary Greco-Egyptian luminary figure based on the Greek Hermes, god of trade, wealth, luck, fertility, sleep, language, thieves and travel; and Egyptian Thoth, god of moon, math, scribes, creation. They both become gods of alchemy. Thoth - Ibis Scribe Moon God of Egypt Egyptian Alchemy - Power of Eternity Corycian Caves, Bee Nymphs & Greek Gods Back to Top

Early people of the Arabian peninsula came through the Levant region c. 8000. Hunter gatherer nomads, they vie for territory with wolves, tigers, lions, leopards and striped hyenas. See also: Arabian Leopard: Bronze Age Predators Gibil - Fire God of Mesopotamia Nigella Sativa: Black Seed of Healers Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Humans are just one of the predators hunting the wild dromedary, gazelles, the plump rock hyrax, and reaping the bounty of the fertile mountain slopes and valleys. By the Bronze Age the Arabian Peninsula offers a paradise of abundance. The home of the first known camel type animal, Protylopus, is North America. Now extinct, Protylopus lived in North America during the upper Eocene, 56 - 34 million years ago. See also: Belet-Seri: Underworld Scribe Goddess Al-Mi'raj: Unicorn Hare of Arab 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 A later mass extinction of mammals works in favor of the Camelus species. Growth and expansion flourish. The camels migrate over the Bering Strait. They spread into Asia, eastern Europe and Africa. This miniature forerunner of the camel has four toes and no obvious hump. It's the oldest and smallest known camel, with an average length of 80 cm (2 ft). See also: Giant Cinnamon Birds of Arabia Dumuzi & Geshtinanna: Reasons for Seasons Gula - Medicine Goddess of Mesopotamia Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books By the Pleistocene, 2.58 million to 11,700 years ago, ancestors of the dromedary are plentiful in the Middle East and North Africa. In the hot, arid regions of western Asia, the modern dromedary evolves from the Bactrian two-humped camel. The Bactrian is the most closely related to the ancestral Old World camels. Fossilized camels are found showing evolution of the dromedary, including one with a smaller anterior hump, and the two-humped fetus of a fossilized dromedary mother. See also: Ancient Arabia - Stone Age to Bronze Shen Rings Egypt - Divine Protection Jade - Jadeite, Nephrite & Jade Roads Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) of the Arabian regions is the tallest camel, with males measuring 2.2–3.6 m (7 ft 3 in – 11 ft 10 in) at the shoulder. Females are 1.7–1.9 m (5 ft 7 in – 6 ft 3 in) tall. A jawbone of a dromedary, dating from 8,200 BCE, was found on the south coast of the Red Sea. Dromedaries have sand colored fur of pale to darker brown. The hump is about 20 cm (8 in) tall. It contains fat held together by fibrous tissue. See also: Ancient Wild Predators - Eurasian Lion Nature Spirits of German Mythology Abu - Ancient Vegetation Snake God Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The dromedary or Arabian camel is an ungulate, browsing on greenery to regurgitate and chew as cud later. Its stomach has three chambers. When the camel first swallows food it travels to a stomach chamber to be broken and partially fermented. This is regurgitated later as cud, which the camel breaks down even further by chewing. Thus it can fill its stomach where food is plentiful and keep up a steady flow of nutrients while on the road. See also: Cinnamon - Spice Trade of Ancients Namtar: Underworld Sukkal & Disease Demon The Way to Aaru - Egyptian Paradise Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Dromedaries well equipped for desert environments. Their bottom teeth are sharp and long for cropping, and they have two upper canine teeth for breaking up woody plants. They also have two upper front teeth, unlike sheep and goats who have none. The feet of the dromedary are not true hoofs. They're two wide, soft toes grown together except for a small wedge. See also: Taweret - Hippopotamus Goddess of Egypt Ugarit - Trade Hub of Bronze Age Syria Namni & Hazzi - Mountain Gods Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The width and flexibility of its feet help the dromedary flee into desert sands where predators sink down and can't pursue. The camel has bushy eyebrows and thick multi-layered eyelids to protect against whipping desert sands, and can fully close its nostrils. Hardy and less prone to disease than livestock like cattle and sheep, camels have been known to vomit if badly or stressfully treated. In this case they aren't sick, just nervous. They can be prone to diseases such as trypanosomiasis, carried by the parasite of a tsetse fly. See also: Asag - Horrific Disease Demon of Kur Papyrus (C. papyrus): Sacred Reeds of Aaru Nabu (Nabû) - Ancient God of Scribes Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Dromedaries form herds of about twenty individuals, under a dominant male. They're browsers, eating desert vegetation and grasses. Females take turns leading the herd while the dominant male is in charge of security. If the herd joins another, he ensures no bachelors try to put moves on his ladies. The male camel has a soft palate on the roof of his mouth. During mating season he inflates it and lets it dangle from the side of his mouth. It can be mistaken for a tongue. Apparently lady camels can't resist a plump pink palate. See also: Hurrians: Bronze Age Warrior Kingdom Land of Punt: Pre-Bronze Age Kingdom of Riches Nefertari Queen of Peace Ancient Egypt Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Dromedaries show displeasure by snapping at antagonists without biting, or stamping their feet. Otherwise they're rarely aggressive, except for rutting males. A dromedary can lose up to 30% of body water content without health problems, another desert adaptation. Humans are dead at half that. Camels don't store water in their humps. Camels have excellent vision and a keen sense of smell. They have good memories. Camels remember their homes and females can recall the place they gave birth the first time. See also: Gallu (Galla) Demons of Ancient Kur Carnelian - Gems of the Ancient World Shakhar & Shalim: Divine Twins of Ugarit Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Wild dromedaries no longer exist in Africa and the Middle East. The animals are fully domesticated by c. 2000 BCE. Early animal husbandry and selective breeding comes c. 1000 BCE. A population of wild dromedaries lives in Australia. It's illegal to hunt camels in Arizona. The US Army brought camels into the desert states believing they would ease transportation of men and supplies. See also: Shapshu: Sun Goddess of Canaanites Egyptian Blue Lotus: Visionary Beauty Asray: Ugaritic Underworld Goddess Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The Civil War puts an end to any camel testing, and some camels escape to form herds in the desert. The last camel verified is in 1917, though later sightings up to the 1950s have been reported. See also: Hattusa Green Stone - Mystic Secrets Land of Punt: Pre-Bronze Age Kingdom of Riches Sphinx - Mythical Monster of Ancients Back to Top

Anqi Sheng (An Qisheng) is a wizard of Chinese lore. He lives on mystic Penglai Mountain Island and has the power to turn invisible. The first Chinese Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, talks for three days and nights with An Qisheng about eternal life. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Zis - Ancient Warrior Hero God Thrace Jade - Jadeite, Nephrite & Jade Roads Immortal - Quest for the Elixir of Life Emperor Qin Shi Huang (Qin Shihuang) is famous for the Terracotta Army and other massive tomb architecture such as palatial towers and rivers of mercury. Work on his tomb begins when he ascends to Kingship at age thirteen in 246 BCE. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries In 221 BCE he forcibly unites the Warring Kingdoms to become China's first Emperor. An unpopular ruler, slayer of scholars and book-burner, he survives at least three assassination attempts. He begins a monumental search for the Elixir of Eternal Life. Ambrosia: Divine Nectar & Immortal Gods Mercury (Quicksilver): Miracle Metal of Alchemy Casting the Bones - Astragalomancy Sylvia Rose Books On Mount Penglai, mage An Qisheng is about a thousand years old in the time of Qin Shihuang. Acutely aware of mortality and old age, the Emperor fears death and obsessively seeks a divine ambrosia, the elixir of immortality. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series - Germanic Mythology Adventures In his conversations with invisible An, Qin Shihuang offers him jade and gold but the wizard has no use for them. The elixir ingredients remain a secret. Finally, in 219 BCE, the Emperor sends an expedition under alchemist and court sorcerer Xu Fu (Xushi) to Penglai Island. Lora Ley Adventures - Feast of Fools Baltic Amber - Gold of the North Seduction of Hedammu, Father of Snakes Sylvia Rose Books Xu Fu's mission is to find the wizard Anqi and bring him back with the elixir of life. He sets out with a hundred barques, legions of armed warriors and a thousand young men and women. However it's not easy finding an invisible immortal on a fabled island. With Fangzhang and Yingzhou, Penglai is one of three sacred islands believed to exist on or beyond the periphery of China, specifically the Bohai Sea, a gulf of the Yellow Sea. Not far from the habitat of humans, the islands are the homes of immortal gods and goddesses. Sulfur - Treasures of the Underworld Bosporus: Black Sea Nature & Greek Myth Is Cherry Laurel Poisonous? Sylvia Rose Books According to the Records of the Grand Historian, the earliest known Chinese alchemist Li Shaojun visits Anqi Sheng during his travels. No records exist of their meeting. In 130 BC, Emperor Wu of Han sends an expedition to find Anqi, without success. Anqi holds an important place in the Taiqing and Shangqing Schools. Biographies of the Daoist transcendent Maming Sheng portray him as a disciple of Anqi Sheng. The wizard reportedly gives him a waidan or alchemical apparatus to refine the elixir of immortality. Corycian Caves, Bee Nymphs & Greek Gods Alchemy: Science, Philosophy, Magic Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Sylvia Rose Books Waidan, translated as 'external alchemy' or 'external elixir', is the early branch of Chinese alchemy. It focuses on compounding elixirs of immortality by heating minerals, metals, and other natural substances in a luted crucible. The practice of waidan originates in the early Han dynasty (206 - 220). It grows in popularity until the Tang dynasty (618 - 907), when a more inward-seeking form of alchemy arises, and several Emperors die of alchemical elixir poisoning. Ephedra - Oldest Medical Stimulant Herb Song of the Loreley - Lethal Beauty Lotan - Chaos Sea Dragon of Ugarit Sylvia Rose Books The Grand Historian or Shiji, a compilation of Chinese history from the 1st century BCE back to the "Yellow Emperor" of c. 2600 BCE. In its Sacrificial Ceremony Section' the text mentions the sacred island quests undertaken by Emperor Wu-ti (156 - 87 BCE). Based on the tales of alchemist / sorcerer Li Shaoun, Wu-ti of the Han Dynasty searches the seas for the mysterious islands and the elixir of immortality. Poet and music lover, he's also a maniacal despot. Myrrh - Mystique, Death & Divinity Agrippina & Son: Poisonous Plots of Rome Poison Hemlock: Herbology & Lore Sylvia Rose Books For perceived wrongs he orders thousands of people slaughtered. He builds prisons and fills them with his enemies. He forces his last queen to commit suicide. Li Shaojun tells Wu-ti he ... traveled to the seas and saw An Qisheng [Anqi Sheng]. An was eating a kind of jujube, which was as big as a watermelon. An Qisheng, going back and forth between Penglai Mountain, only met those who are predestined. If someone who was not predestined wanted to meet, he would just hide. Then, the Emperor started to offer sacrifices to the kitchen god and later sent alchemists to look for An Qisheng and other gods in the sea Neolithic Salt & Brine Works Europe Minoan Genius (Genii) Helper Spirits Hippomancy: Sacred Horse Divination Sylvia Rose Books Over several years, Wu-ti organizes more quests for the sacred islands. Discovery of the glorious elixir obsesses the minds of elites and royalty of Imperial Chinese dynasties. The potion remains elusive, as do the islands and the immortal magician An Qisheng. Myth & Metallurgy - Metals of Antiquity Cypriot Copper & Ancient Cyprus Honey Mead: Most Ancient Ambrosia Back to Top

Ambrosia is the Greek elixir of immortality. The food, drink or nectar of the Gods, ambrosia connects to nourishment and fruit of the Earth. Human ambrosia is honey mead, a drink made with fermented honey. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure See also: Immortal - Quest for the Elixir of Life Anqi Sheng & the Elixir of Immortality Mad Honey - What's the Buzz? Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Mead production begins in the Neolithic age, with the first drink made from fermented honey identified in China c. 6500 BCE. Mead is discovered before both pottery and agriculture, as humans find naturally fermented sweet honey in old honeybee hives. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure At the end of the Ice Age c. 11,000 ya, the climate is warmer and in some regions, more humid. People migrate north. Honey bees migrate all over the world, establishing honey manufacturing facilities on every continent except Antarctica. See also: After the Ice Age - Neolithic Builders Gargari: Men of the Amazon Warriors Sugar Beets, Altbier & First Newspaper Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Ambrosia relates to divinity, wisdom, enlightenment, long life or eternal life. In Hindu religion it's compared to the mythical Amrita, a drink of immortality. Amrita is used by the devas or blessed beings, often in conflict with the asuras, or demons. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures When the devas churn the ocean of milk, strange creatures issue forth. Among them comes Dhanvantari, god of healing, with the sacred substance Amrita in a pitcher. Words Amrita and ambrosia come from the same Proto-Indo-European root, 'not death' or 'deathlessness'. See also: Ancient Marsh Muse - Rough Horsetail Mugwort (Wormwood) Herbal Lore Elixir of Life: Alchemy & the Emperor Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Similarly the word nectar comes from the Proto Indo European nek-, "death", and -*tar, "overcoming". In Greece, those who consume ambrosia, nectar of the Gods, have not blood but divine ichor in their veins. READ - Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Discovery of an elixir of life is one of the three prime aims of alchemy for centuries. Alchemy and the quest for immortality is especially important to Chinese emperors and nobles, some of whom perish from toxic ingestions, such as liquid metal mercury or quicksilver. See also: Mercury (Quicksilver): Miracle Metal of Alchemy Ancient Deities: Proto Indo European Gods Women of the Wild Hunt: Holle, Diana, Frigg Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Doves carry the ambrosia to the Greek gods in their empyrean home Olympus. The drink is served at the heavenly feast by Hebe the Cup-Bearer, Goddess of Youth or Prime of Life; or by Ganymede, a divine hero of Troy. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure In Homer's Iliad, Ganymedes was the loveliest born of the race of mortals; therefore the gods caught him away to themselves to be Zeus' wine-pourer, for the sake of his beauty, so he might be among the immortals. See also: Sinope: Poison, Honey, Greeks & Clay Nibelung - Of Worms & Heroes Visigoths, King Alaric & the Ruin of Rome Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Ambrosia is also used for beauty and health. Aphrodite applies it as perfume for its sweet fragrance. According to the Iliad, Hera "cleansed all defilement from her lovely flesh." Infant Achilles is dunked in ambrosia before being passed through a fire, only his heel untouched. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Athena anoints Penelope, wife of Odysseus, as she sleeps, so when she appears before her suitors she inflames them with desire. Penelope's heart still belongs to Odysseus. Fending off ardent men until he returns, she becomes a symbol of faithfulness and love. See also: Pagan Solstice Fests: Saturnalia Sun Goddesses of World Mythology Queen Eleanor & the Calamitous Crusade Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Various cultures attribute 'food of the gods' to ambrosia and 'drink of the gods' to nectar. It can be the other way around, or the words are used interchangeably. A few botany mythologists identify ambrosia with the hallucinogenic mushroom fly agaric. READ - Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries By the first century CE, writers use ambrosia in a broad sense as a "delightful liquid". Terminology evolves to describe cooking, art, hair, music, fragrance of the body or botanical elements, pleasure. See also: Music of Ancient & Medieval Egypt Siris - Beer Goddess of Mesopotamia 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 the ancient Aegean, fermented honey or honey mead is used to transcend the boundaries of reality before the discovery of wine and viniculture. At least two Minoan goddesses are portrayed with faces of bees. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Ambrosia is also a nymph of the god Dionysus. In the 9th century BCE, Lycurgus, king of Thrace, outlaws the cult of Dionysus and attacks the entourage of the gods when they try to celebrate. See also: Apples: Myth, Nature & German Folklore Witches & Witchcraft: Ancient World Siris - Beer Goddess of Mesopotamia Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Ambrosia turns herself into a grape vine to hide. Dionysus, god of wine, theater and madness, lives up to his reputation and drives the king dramatically insane. Lycurgus kills his son, thinking him a stalk of ivy (or kills his whole family), then himself. See also: German Myth - Father Rhine River God Gnomes: Earth Spirits of Renaissance Mythology Ninkasi: Beer Goddess Mesopotamia Back to Top

Snakes have mystic associations since the beginning of human thought. The European Grass Snake (Natrix natrix) is a small, harmless reptile common through Europe. In folklore it's a symbol of fertility and earth mysteries, and a benevolent house or nature spirit. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Women of the Wild Hunt: Holle, Diana, Frigg Žaltys: Sacred Snake & Serpent Queen Baltic Ancient Mythology & Folklore Sylvia Rose Books The European grass snake is sometimes called the green snake or ringed snake. Its color can vary from grey to brown to green tones to almost teal blue. Natrix natrix has a light-colored collar, seen yellowish in the snake above. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure In spirituality the snake is a strong fertility symbol. It's depicted in the art of ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Rome and the Minoans, and continues to have vital meaning today. In spring, mating balls of snakes resemble the multi-headed serpents of myth. Destiny & Death: Fate in the Ancient World Electrum: Metal of Money & Myth Mad Honey - What's the Buzz? Sylvia Rose Books Semi-aquatic reptiles, European grass snakes spend much of their time in water or moist places where amphibian prey is to be found. Like frogs, snakes are indicators of environmental health. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures A frog breathes through its skin and is highly sensitive to water-borne pollutants. No frogs means no Natrix natrix, and a sign of poor water or environmental quality, as they're all part of the same ecosystem. Heqet, Frog Goddess of Egypt Curonian Freshwater Baltic Sea Lagoon Abu - Ancient Vegetation Snake God Sylvia Rose Books Snakes in spirituality relate to: fertility powers of creation mystery, secrets rebirth cycles the Sun sensuality seduction intuition; dreams (especially water snakes) wealth, prosperity health, medicine cunning; wisdom trickery prophecy, divination In Hinduism, the serpent represents Kundalini energy, coiled at the base of the spine. It waits to be awakened to achieve spiritual enlightenment. Immortal - Quest for the Elixir of Life Ancient Deities: Proto Indo European Gods Ornithomancy - Prophecy by the Birds Sylvia Rose Books Snakes are used during the Roman period to control rodents. Lares, or household gods, can be portrayed as snakes. In Baltic folklore, the grass snake or žaltys is a house spirit. It lives in the house with the humans, often resting by the hearth where it's warm. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure The žaltys snake is sacred to sun goddess Saulė. If it's seen in the field, people try to make friends with it, traditionally by giving it a bowl of milk. Snakes don't drink milk, being unable to digest it, but grass snakes easily acclimatize to humans. Killing the žaltys is very bad luck. Potrimpo - Baltic Sea God of Grain Baltic Ancient Mythology & Folklore Casting the Bones - Astragalomancy Sylvia Rose Books In ancient Greece, snakes are considered guardians of the Underworld. Living in cracks and holes in the earth they act as messengers between Upper and Lower worlds. According to Plato, the snake "eating its own tail", or Ouroboros symbol, represents eternal life. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries The ouroboros is also one of the most familiar signs of alchemy, relating wholeness, healing and immortality. An exception is the Germanic Lindwyrm, who puts tail in mouth and rolls like a wheel to pursue human prey. Lindwyrm, Mare & Pig Demons: German Myth Seduction of Hedammu, Father of Snakes Velnias - Baltic Devil God of Death Sylvia Rose Books In legend the snake is an ancient form of dragon, the Worm or Wyrm, such as the German Lindwyrm. The Lindwyrm has very small legs or none at all. It's a beast of enormous capacity. Lindwyrm tricks humans into its jaws by pretending to be part of the environment. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Any treasure the Lindwyrm lies upon increases, associating dragons with hoards of wealth. While the grass snake doesn't display this talent, all snakes relate to prosperity. Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Rhinestones: Treasures of the Rhine Apis - Sacred Sacrificial Bull of Egypt Sylvia Rose Books European grass snakes are darker in colder habitats. The black and white pattern on the underside of N. natrix is different for each and can identify individual snakes. Although grass snakes are non-venomous and don't bite even for fun, they're distantly related to cobras. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure The throwback shows in some individuals having a partial hood or thickened skin they can flex if confronted. This small snake species has a number of predators such as corvids, storks, owls, hawks, foxes and domestic cats. Owl - Death, Messages, Mystic Wisdom Egyptian Blue Lotus: Visionary Beauty Wine God Liber: Liberty & Liberal Libation Sylvia Rose Books A snake sheds its skin at least once a year, possibly more often depending on the species. The eyes look milky blue at this time and the snake is vulnerable, but also more aggressive or reactive if threatened. If caught it might vomit out its stomach contents. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Natrix natrix releases a foul odor and has the ability to "play dead" or go completely limp when frightened. It might bleed from the nose or mouth but isn't actually injured. The animal stays conscious but in a state of thanatosis (named for Greek Thanatos, god of death). Herbology & Lore: Death Cap Mushrooms Kur - Underworld of Mesopotamia The Way to Aaru - Egyptian Paradise Sylvia Rose Books In one season grass snakes need to eat at least three times. Besides hunting, the snake basks to absorb warmth from sunlight. In spring, males emerge first to gather energy for romance, which happens as soon as the female snakes come out of the ground. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures She'll lay 10 - 40 soft-shelled eggs in June - July, often in compost heaps or rotting vegetation which gives off heat. In 10 weeks the young hatch, and are immediately self-sufficient. Lammašaga: Sumerian Angel Goddess Bronze Age Europe - The Amber Roads Verdigris: Volatile Blue Green Pigment Sylvia Rose Books Grass snakes are typically slim, and grow to about 1 m (3 ft 3 in). The grass snake is widely distributed in mainland Europe, ranging from mid Scandinavia to south Italy. It's also found in the Middle East and northwest Africa. Oder River: Nature & Early People Corycian Caves, Bee Nymphs & Greek Gods Amazons - Warrior Women History & Myth Back to Top

Thrace, in the area of today's Bulgaria, has a cosmology going back thousands of years. Tribal mythology shares a Great Goddess and Storm God. The mythical bard Orpheus originates among the scattered Thracian tribes, and music is an important part of ritual. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Thrace: Warfare, Slavery & Music Zis - Ancient Warrior Hero God Thrace Solnitsata - Neolithic Salt Trade Town Sylvia Rose Books Thracian religion is polytheistic with monotheistic elements. In Thracian creation lore, Bendis the Earth Mother personifies the world at rest. The goddess then self-fertilizes and gives birth to a first son, Zis, the male principle. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventure Zis is the primary deity of Thrace, with Great Mother of the Gods Bendis. He has both celestial and a chthonic connections, identified with the Sun and Fire. Through the sacred marriage of Bendis and Zis, the bard Orpheus is born. Cypriot Copper & Ancient Cyprus Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) Nature & Lore Neolithic Salt & Brine Works Europe Sylvia Rose Books The mythical origin of Thrace is with Thrax, a son of war god Ares. Thrax is founder and patron of Thrace. In the Bronze Age the golden shield of Ares is kept in a temple at Bistonia near the Aegean. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure According to Euripides, Thrax can be an aspect of war god Ares himself. The war god is also protector of the Thracians. He's worshiped by Spartans, who sacrifice dogs to him, and the Amazons. His sacred animals are dogs and vultures; his symbols, a torch and spear. Nekhbet - Vulture Goddess of Egypt Nature Spirits of German Mythology Ambrosia: Divine Nectar & Immortal Gods Sylvia Rose Books Ares is brother to Eris, goddess of discord. It's she who tosses a golden apple in the midst of three goddesses, the catalyst which starts the Trojan War. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventure Worship of Ares by the Mycenaean Greeks begins in the 13th century BCE. Some writings consider his birthplace to be Thrace, among the ferocious warrior raiders. Ares is not a popular god. A few temples and shrines exist, such as ruins and tales of Giresun Island. Giresun (Aretias): Isle of the Amazons Vistula Lagoon Baltic Nature & History Lake Van: Fate of a Primeval Salt Lake Sylvia Rose Books The most important Thracian shrines date to the Late Bronze Age (16th - 12th centuries BCE). Many are erected at regions with previous spiritual connections, such as Belintash and Perperikon in the Rhodope Mountains. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventure The name Rhodope is of Thracian origin, meaning red or ruddy river. In Greek mythology, Queen Rhodope of Thrace offends the gods. She and her husband King Haemus are turned to mountains by Hera and Zeus. Taurus Mountains: Bronze Age Bounty European Grass Snake: Nature & Lore Abzu - Primal Waters of Creation Sylvia Rose Books From the legendary union of Bendis and her first son Zis, all potent elements are fertilized to ensure continuance of life. Zis is represented as a horse warrior. In the origin lore of Thrace, Orpheus sets free the energies of creation. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure In Greek lore, Orpheus is son of Calliope, muse of eloquence and epic poetry, and Thracian King Oeagru. Oeagru is considered a Thracian wine-god descended from Atlas. Within this lineage, the brother of Orpheus is Linus, a gifted musician and master of eloquent speech. Sistrum (Sistra) Music: Ancient Egypt Caspian Tiger: Bronze Age Wild Predators Slavic River Spirits & Roman Gods Sylvia Rose Books In other tales, Orpheus is among the many sons of Apollo, the diverse god of music, dance, poetry, healing and disease, divination and prophecy, archery, truth, justice, the Sun and light. Apollo gives Orpheus his first lyre. Orpheus plays a part in the Argonautica, the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts on a quest for the Golden Fleece. When sirens try to lure the Argonauts with their sweet songs, Orpheus plays even more beautifully on his lyre, saving the men from certain doom. Bosporus: Black Sea Nature & Greek Myth Stymphalian Birds & Greek Heroics Amazons - Warrior Women History & Myth Sylvia Rose Books The most famous story of Orpheus is that of his trip to Hades, the underworld, to rescue his beloved wife Eurydice. He charms the three-headed dog, Cerberus, who guards the gates, with his music. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventure Finally he manages to impress the god and Hades lets him take Eurydice back to the world of the living - on the condition he doesn't look back as she follows him. Naturally Orpheus can't resist looking back, and sees her behind him. With a cry, she vanishes forever. Erinyes - Vengeful Women of Ancient Greece Rhytons - Animal Vessels of the Ancients Sinope: Poison, Honey, Greeks & Clay Sylvia Rose Books Orpheus meets a tragic end, being either torn apart by wild beasts or Maenads, female followers of the God Dionysus. Their rites can be both ecstatic and bloodthirsty. According to one version he refuses to sleep with the women, hence their murderous brutality. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Initially, the Thracian people worship Zalmoxis, a god of life, death and mysteries; Orpheus; Cotys, the wild mother; Zis, and Bendis the earth mother. Despite their warrior nature the Thracians have a love of music and poetry, noted by later Greco-Romans. Women of the Wild Hunt: Holle, Diana, Frigg Great Cormorant: Wild Birds & Mythic Beasts Agrippina & Son: Poisonous Plots of Rome Sylvia Rose Books Zalmoxis receives his name from the bearskin he wears after he's born. He may be a "dying god", who dies and become resurrected. According to Herodotus: " ... the Getae are the bravest of the Thracians and the most just. They believe they are immortal forever living in the following sense: they think they do not die and that the one who dies joins Zalmoxis, a divine being; some call this same divine being Gebeleizis. Gebeleizis is also known as a god of storm and lightning especially among the Thracian Getae. The Getae inhabit a small area north of the Danube. The god Zalmoxis can appear in this capacity in other regions too. Perkūnas: Baltic Storm & Fertility God Baal (Ba'al): Storm God & Love Demon Corycian Caves, Bee Nymphs & Greek Gods Sylvia Rose Books Every four years, they send a messenger to Zalmoxis, who is chosen by chance. They ask him to tell Zalmoxis what they want on that occasion. The mission is performed in the following way: ... men standing there for that purpose hold three spears; other people take the one who is sent to Zalmoxis by his hands and feet and fling him in the air on the spears. If he dies pierced, they think that the divinity is going to help them; if he does not die, it is he who is accused and they declare that he is a bad person. Chaoskampf: Order & Chaos Battle Out Sacrifice of the Male: Temple at Uppsala Hünenburg: Bronze Age European Trade Hub Sylvia Rose Books And, after he has been charged, they send another one. The messenger is told the requests while he is still alive. The same Thracians, on other occasions, when he thunders and lightens, shoot with arrows up in the air against the sky and menace the divinity because they think there is no god other than their own." READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Cotys or Cotytto (Kotus or Kotuttô) is a Thracian goddess sometimes equated with Bendis. Her festival, the Cotyttia, is similar to the feast of Phrygian Cybele. It's a wild unruly celebration in the hills. Later her worship is connected to Dionysian style revels. Wine God Liber: Liberty & Liberal Libation Elderberry Tree: Germanic Nature Lore Ninkasi: Beer Goddess Mesopotamia Sylvia Rose Books Worship of Cotys extends as far as Italy and Sicily. Celebrants of her festival are called baptai. Literary references include those of Aeschylus: "Practising the holy rites of Kotyto (Cotyto) . . . One, holding in his hands the pipe, the labor of the lathe, blows forth his fingered tune, even the sound that wakes to frenzy. Another, with brass-bound cymbals, raises a clang . . . the twang shrills; the unseen, unknown, bull-voiced mimes in answer bellow fearfully, while the timbrel's echo, like that of subterranean thunder, rolls along inspiring a mighty terror." Aetsi: Boars, Snakes & Baltic Amber Lindwyrm, Mare & Pig Demons: German Myth Poltergeist - Nastiest Noisy Spirit Sylvia Rose Books ... and Strabo: "Also resembling these rites [the sacred rites of Rhea and Dionysos] are the Kotytian (Cotytian) and the Bendideian rites practiced among the Thrakians (Thracians), among whom the Orphic rites had their beginning. Now the Kotys (Cotys) who is worshipped among the Edonians [a Thrakian tribe], and also the instruments used in her rites, are mentioned by Aiskhylos (Aeschylus); for he says, ‘O adorable Kotys among the Edonians, and ye who hold mountain-ranging instruments’; Old Prussians of the Baltic Coast Neman River - Nature, History, Lore Ugarit Royal Palace: Romancing the Ruins Sylvia Rose Books " ... and he mentions immediately afterwards the attendants of Dionysos: ‘one, holding in his hands the bombyces, toilsome work of the turner's chisel, fills full the fingered melody, the call that brings on frenzy: while another causes to resound the bronze-bound cotylae’ and again, ‘stringed instruments raise their shrill cry, and frightful mimickers from some place unseen bellow like bulls, and the semblance of drums, as of subterranean thunder, rolls along, a terrifying sound’; Copper: Ruddy Metal of Myth & Magic Lotan - Chaos Sea Dragon of Ugarit Minoans of Crete: Ancient Greek Culture Sylvia Rose Books " ... for these rites resemble the Phrygian rites, and it is at least not unlikely that, just as the Phrygians themselves were colonists from Thrake, so also their sacred rites were borrowed from there. Also when they identify Dionysos and the Edonian Lykourgos (Lycurgus), they hint at the homogeneity of their sacred rites." Bendis, the Earth Mother, personifies the womb of life and death's decay. To the Greeks she is equated with divine huntress Artemis to whom the deer and bear are sacred. She's often accompanied by dancing satyrs and maenads. Rise of Pan: Fertility Goat God Péh₂usōn Girsu (Tello): Ancient Sumerian City Fairy Rings, Moon & Nature Magic Sylvia Rose Books Human sacrifice is also given to Bendis. To the Thracians she is an ultimate power, the beginning of all life and the end of it. Burials, offerings and sacrifice are often made in natural rock formations or caves reaching down to the depths of the earth. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Groundwater arising in springs or lakes from the earth has special spiritual meaning. Shrines and temples are often erected at these places. In some rock walls, Thracians carve carefully shaped niches for votive offerings. Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Žaltys: Sacred Snake & Serpent Queen Stone Age Botai - First Horse People Sylvia Rose Books Bendida Peak on Trinity Peninsula in Antarctica is named after Bendis. The Thracian Great Goddess appears regularly on artwork of the Greco-Roman periods. The Earth Mother, Great Goddess, Earth Goddess or Creator Goddess is a fundamental theme in pagan lore. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Horses are integral to Thracian culture and religion. A Horse Warrior God is depicted in splendor. He represents hero god Zis, sometimes portrayed as a warrior with three heads. Zis battles the Chaos dragon, and purges pestilence from the Rhodone Mountains. Chaoskampf: Order & Chaos Battle Out Silver - Queen of Precious Metals Horse in Dreams - Meaning of Horses Sylvia Rose Books Ancient Thracians believe in universal forces within the world, which is made of the four elements Earth, Air, Water and Fire. These elements are seen as forces or energies combined in the form of the mountain, personified as the Thracian Mother Goddess. Death doesn't frighten them, as they see the soul as eternal. Either the deceased returns to Earth, or achieves greater happiness in the Afterlife. Suicide is considered a sacred act and the person gains respect. Cults form around the belief of soul transmigration. Baltic Ancient Mythology & Folklore Ornithomancy - Prophecy by the Birds Honey Bees (Apidae): Nature & Myth Sylvia Rose Books The tetrad or group of four is considered the basis of the cosmos in Thracian religion, and the number ten represents the Cosmos itself, being composed of numbers four, three, two, and one, according to the equation 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10. Later adopted Greek deities include Dionysos (Dionysus), Artemis, Apollo and Hermes. Among the hunters of the Calydonian boar, a creature of destruction sent by Artemis, is the Thracian Alcon, also a son of Ares. The tale takes place c. 1300 BCE. Baltic Aetsi & the Roman Amber Texts Mushussu - Snake Dragon Animal of Marduk Vistula River: Early Tribes & Trade Sylvia Rose Books Related to the Great Mother Goddess and deification of mountains, a megalithic culture forms in Thrace in the 2nd and first millennia BCE. Remnants include monuments, rock-cut niches of rectangular or circular of trapezoidal shape for votive gifts. At the sacred sites, platforms for sacrifices include troughs and drainage outlets for the victims' blood. Sacred steps lead to springs or rock sanctuaries, dolmens and megalithic complexes. Yazilikaya: Sacred Site of the Hittites Potnia: Mystery Goddess of Ancient Greece Giant Cinnamon Birds of Arabia Sylvia Rose Books Bear worship is associated with the Thracians, as it is with Germanic tribes, Slavs, Finns, the Sami, some Japanese cultures, Gallic, Celtic and British; and Dacians and Getians. The latter two are tribes of Thrace. Bear worship societies often practice bear sacrifice. Beyond the great gods in Thracian religion are a host of nature spirits such as nymphs of the mountains and waters. Also revered are the Cabeiri, a group of divinities who promise good fortune in the afterlife, maintain justice and laws of social order. Reiker For Hire, Victorian Era & Nixies Butzemann, Witches & Nyx - Scare 'em Good Great Bear - Nature, Spirituality & Lore Sylvia Rose Books Centaurs, men with horse bodies, inhabit the fringes of wilderness, eat raw meat and abduct women. They are forces of chaos. Sacrifice of a bull is required to maintain world harmony. In iconography centaurs may be winged. Centaurs and nymphs also enjoy love affairs. Another animal of ritual worship and sacrifice is the ram. The Greek myth of the Golden Fleece is thought to have Thracian origins. In a legend of Thrace, a golden ram appears among the king's sheep as divine favor. Lahar: Flock & Sheep Pastoral Goddess Sprites: Ethereal Creatures of Faerie Khnum: Ram Headed Potter God Egypt Sylvia Rose Books The ram is sacrificed and its golden woolly skin preserved as a royal talisman. The myth may symbolize domestication of mobile wealth and its transfer to Bendis as hearth-goddess. Bendis of the hearth is also a patron of snakes, recalling ancient Baltic lore. The ram is closely associated with Thracian Hermes, and dwells in the middle part of the Cosmos. Ancient Greek sources attest the tale of the Golden Fleece originates in this Thracian myth. Mythic Fire Gods: Hephaestus of the Greek Bronze Age Europe - The Amber Roads Casting the Bones - Astragalomancy Back to Top