Three Goblin Art
tannertan36
Sade Olutola
No title available
ojovivo
NASA
trying on a metaphor
PR's Tumblrdome
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will byers stan first human second
Peter Solarz
KIROKAZE
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
祝日 / Permanent Vacation
JBB: An Artblog!
taylor price
AnasAbdin
pixel skylines
⁂
DEAR READER
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@ancient-memories
Medieval ruins found under high school gym in Finland
Located adjacent to the Aboa Vetus history museum, also built over medieval ruins, the plot on which the Cathedral School stands has been the site archaeological digs for the past three years.
Read more
The Leavenworth Post, Kansas, June 9, 1918
One of the oldest libraries on the planet is digitizing its archive of ancient manuscripts — and they’re all available to view free of charge. Continue reading →
STOP EVERYTHING
Like I have trouble stating how huge this is but they hoarded books like motherfuckers for centuries and there’s like, magical texts in there and stuff and also to be able to understand what things were actually written at certain times you had to go read the texts in-person which means going to Italy and getting permission to go into the library and that’s hella hard.
Opening up this sort of knowledge is HUGE for things, including non-Christian things, because it opens up the real context of history instead of filtering it through whatever articles academics write based on whatever texts they chose to read, oh my gosh.
You peeps who like research should be able to find enough material here to keep you in your chair for the rest of your life TBH. When the site is up. It looks like it’s down now. xD;
Dark Ages, Schmark Ages. The De-Textbook cuts through that and so much more fake-fact bullshit.
cloudy with a chance of witch burning
your periodic reminder that a good chunk of Europe basically shat the bed for a few centuries while everyone else kinda did their thing.
I am sorry I’m going to be that person.
This map is extremely inaccurate.
1) China was not going through business as usual China was going through the TANG DYNASTY i.e. the Golden Age of Chinese culture, which would lay down legal and social and poetic norms for the rest of Chinese history. The Tang is so influential that a lot of languages call Chinese people 唐人 (People from Tang.) (We call Chinese people “people from Qin” so.)
2) Japan is _first becoming literate_ during this time period (due to the influence of the Tang they adopt Chinese script), which is a BFD for poetry, religion, politics, society. Japanese court culture develops, which near the end of this period (11th century, around the time Europe enters “high middle ages”) will produce The Tale of Genji (by a totally awesome woman named Murasaki),widely regarded as the world’s first novel because of it’s deft use of irony and social commentary.
3) The southern part of Korea is experiencing the emergence of Unified Silla, a state that will last the entire period and will see the importation of Chinese and Indian buddhism, the construction of the first Confucian college in Korea, and so on.
4) In Mesoamerica, the Mayans are inventing astronomy, writing (the third and final independent invention of writing in human history), and a whole crapload of other stuff. This is the triumph of their culture.
5) The Umayyads in Spain are a massive center of technology, learning, and (comparative) religious toleration.
6) The Eastern Roman Empire, which spans both the green and yellow portions of your map, isn’t doing too badly either, bouncing back after losing territory to the Caliphate.
7) The Polynesians are colonizing the ENTIRE PACIFIC using amazing advanced navigation technology not rivaled until the INVENTION OF GPS.
8) I am not equipped to talk about Sub-Saharan Africa in detail (cue rant about how we never learn about subsaharan africa in the western educational system) but you can bet there are some major, amazing developments going on there too. I’d be shocked if there weren’t.
9) HOLY SHIT INDIA.
10) OMG SOUTH EAST ASIA. SOUTH. EAST. ASIA.
11) THEY WEREN’T BURNING WITCHES IN EUROPE DURING THE MIGRATION PERIOD (dark ages). Witch burning took off in the EARLY MODERN PERIOD, nearly 1000 years after this. Europe was going through some tough shit, which would leave them backwards compared to the rest of the world for 1000 years, but also there were some amazing things happening there, at least have the decency to be like “angry dudes with swords stabbing people” not WITCH BURNINGS FFS.
12) And ABSOLUTELY Islamic Caliphate was a totally amazing flowering of intellectual, artistic, and spiritual culture, a mixing pot between a thousand cultures and languages, and totally amazing. Don’t in any way want to diminish that in any way.
I’ve always winced when seeing the original picture, so thank you binghsien for that excellent commentary!
To add:
8) Around 1000 AD was a major wave of Bantu migration, carrying a new technology of advanced ironwork throughout Africa:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/2chapter4.shtml
THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTARY I WAS WINCING SO MUCH.
Medieval Book Historian Erik Kwakkel Discovers and Catalogs 800-Year-Old Doodles in Some of the World’s Oldest Books
Details from the Roman Arch of Constantine, dedicated in AD 312. This triumphal arch is situated between the Palatine Hill and Colosseum in Rome, and was built by the Senate to commemorate the victory of Constantine the Great in the Battle of Milvian Bridge.
Photos taken by Steve James.
Some of the authorities who maintain that the cult of Horus originated in the Delta suggest that it made its way into Upper Egypt when the inhabitants of the North sailed as far south as Nebet (modern name, Tukh) and conquered the followers of the local god, Seth. Certainly, this was a tradition enshrined in inscriptions in the temple that was built at Edfu in Ptolemaic times. Some even go as far as to say that all the legends concerning Horus’ struggles with his great enemy, Seth, are based on fact and symbolize the conquest of the South by Horus’ followers from the North. On the other hand, others suggest that Horus originated in Upper Egypt, and that his cult spread northwards as the Upper Egyptian kings Scorpion and Narmer/Menes subjugated that part of the land. This theory might account for the monogram on the famous Narmer Palette which shows a falcon perched on a papyrus plant from which a human head protrudes. A rope tied through the nose on the head is held by a hand projecting from the falcon’s breast. The monogram is thought to depict Horus bringing the people of the North, symbolized by the papyrus of the Lower Egypt, as captives to the King of Upper Egypt—an act, perhaps, that he would be more likely to perform as an Upper Egyptian god.
The Gods of Ancient Egypt, Barbara Watterson (p. 99-100)
Horus was fitted into Heliopolitan theology not in his own form of sun-god but as the son of Osiris and Isis, born posthumously in the Delta where Isis protected him from his father’s murderer, Seth, until he was old enough to claim his inheritance, the Throne of Egypt. This Horus was called variously Hor-sa-Isis (Horus-son-of-Isis; in Greek, Harsiesis); Hor-nedj-her-itef (Horus-avenger-of-his-father; in Greek, Harendotes); and Hor-pa-khred (Horus-the-Child (of Isis); in Greek, Harpocrates).
The Gods of Ancient Egypt, Barbara Watterson (p. 101)
At Edfu, the story is told of how, in the beginning, Chaos reigned, all was in darkness and the waters of the Nun covered the earth—silent, inert, deep. And then, two amorphous deities, the Great One and the Distant One, appeared above a small island that had emerged out of the Primaeval Waters. From the flotsam that clung to the edges of this island, one of the deities picked up a stick, split it into two pieces and stuck one of them into the ground, near the water’s edge. No sooner had he done so than a falcon emerged from the surrounding darkness and alighted on the stick. Immediately, light broke over Chaos, and the falcon sitting on his perch transformed the island into a holy place. The antiquity of this tradition is attested by the fact that, in the Archaic Period, the hieroglyphic sign for ‘god’ consisted of a falcon sitting on a perch.
The Gods of Ancient Egypt, Barbara Watterson (p. 105-106)
To the Egyptians, as to many people, the eye was extremely important. We still say that ‘the eye is the mirror of the soul’; and many people today, in Egypt and elsewhere, fear the Evil Eye. Hence, the Divine Eye was, to the Egyptians, a symbol of great significance. It could take many forms—Edjo, Tefnut and Hathor, for instance, were each known as the Eye of Re; the Wadjet-eye of Horus had religious and protective connotations.
The Gods of Ancient Egypt, Barbara Watterson (p. 109)
I love this blog <3333 favourite thing on tumblr
Thank you! <3
Behold - the tasty majesty whose day tumblr suggested us to celebrate. And celebrate we will.
During the Middle Ages Arab cooks fried unsweetened yeast dough and drenched them in a sugary syrup. In 15th century Germany, fritters were filled with meat or mushrooms. Paczki, the traditional Polish pastry akin to a jelly donut were a favorite. Eaten especially on Ostatki, or Fat Tuesday, a tradition which was originally meant to use up all of the sugar, lard and eggs before Lent. (x)
Normandy Beaches in 1944 & 70 Years Later
On June 6, 1944, Allied soldiers descended on the beaches of Normandy for D-Day, an operation that turned the tide of the Second World War against the Nazis, marking the beginning of the end of the conflict. Reuters photographer Chris Helgren compiled archive pictures taken during the invasion and went back to the same places to photograph them as they appear today.
More pictures here
In Which Diversity Isn't a Myth
Ok. I’m tired of the typical vampire, werewolf and fairy.I’m also tired of the occidental-centrism in mythology. Hence, this list.
I tried to included as many cultural variants as I could find and think of. (Unfortunately, I was restricted by language. Some Russian creatures looked very interesting but I don’t speak Russian…) Please, add creatures from your culture when reblogguing (if not already present). It took me a while to gather all those sites but I know it could be more expansive. I intend on periodically editing this list.
Of note: I did not include specific legendary creatures (Merlin, Pegasus, ect), gods/goddesses/deities and heroes.
Dragons
The Chinese Dragon
The Japanese Dragon
The Korean Dragon
The Vietnamese Dragon
The Greek Dragon
The Indian Dragon
The Polish Dragon
The Austrian Dragon
The British Dragon
The Ancient Dragon (Egypt, Babylon and Sumer)
The Spanish Basque Dragon
Of the Cockatrice (creature with the body of a dragon)
Alphabetical List of Dragons Across Myths (Great way to start)
Little creatures (without wings)
The Legend of the Leprechauns, The Leprechaun
Chanaque /Alux (the equivalent of leprechauns in Aztec/Mayan folklore)
Elves
Elves in Mythology and Fantasy
Elves in Germanic Mythology
Kabeiroi or Cabeiri (Dwarf-like minor gods in Greek mythology)
Norse Dwarves
The Myth of Loki and the Dwarves
Ten Types of Goblins
Goblins
Tengu: Japanese Goblins
Gnomes
More on Gnomes
Pooka: an Irish phantom
Creatures with wings (except dragons)
Fairies
All sorts of Cultural Fairies
Fairies in Old French Mythology
A Fairy List
Bendith Y Mamau (Welsh fairies)
Welsh Fairies
Peri (Persian fairies)
Yü Nü (Chinese fairies)
The Celtic Pixie
Angels in Judaism
Angels in Christianity
Hierarchy of Angels
Angels in Islam
Irish Sylph
Garuda (Bird-like creature in Hindu and Buddhist myths)
Bean Nighe (a Scottish fairy; the equivalent of a banshee in Celtic mythology)
Harpies
Spirited Creatures
Druids
Jinn (Genies in Arabic folklore)
Types of Djinns
Aisha Qandisha and Djinn in Moroccan Folklore
Oni (demons in Japanese folklore)
Nymphs
Spirits in Asturian Mythology
Valkyries
Lesovik
Boggarts: The British Poltergeist
Phantom black dogs (the Grim)
Demons in Babylonian and Assyrian Mythology (list)
Demons in the Americas (list)
European Demons (list)
Middle-East and Asia Demons (list)
Judeo-Christian Demons (list)
Nephilim, more on Nephilim
Mahaha (a demon in Inuit mythology)
Flying Head (a demon in Iroquois mythology)
Ghosts
Toyol (a dead baby ghost in Malay folklore)
Malay Ghosts
Yuki-onna (a ghost in Japanese folklore)
The Pontianak (a ghost in Malay mythology)
Funayurei (a ghost in Japanese folklore)
Zagaz (ghosts in Moroccan folklore)
Japanese Ghosts
Mexican Ghosts
Horse-like mythical creatures
Chinese Unicorns
Unicorns
The Kelpie (Could have also fitted in the sea creatures category)
The Centaur
The Female Centaur
Hippocamps (sea horses in Greek mythology)
Horse-like creatures (a list)
Karkadann, more on the Karkadann (a persian unicorn)
Ceffyl Dwfr (fairy-like water horse creatures in Cymric mythology)
Undead creatures
The Melanesian Vampire
The Ewe Myth : Vampires
The Germanic Alp
The Indonesian Vampire
Asanbosam and Sasabonsam (Vampires from West Africa)
The Aswang: The Filipino Vampire
Folklore Vampires Versus Literary Vampires
Callicantzaros: The Greek Vampire
Vampires in Malaysia
Loogaroo/Socouyant: The Haitian Vampire
Incubi and Sucubi Across Cultures
Varacolaci: The Romanian Vampire
Brahmaparusha: The Indian Vampire
Genesis of the Word “Vampire”
The Ghoul in Middle East Mythology
Slavic Vampires
Vampires A-Z
The Medical Truth Behind the Vampire Myths
Zombies in Haitian Culture
Shape-shifters and half-human creatures (except mermaids)
Satyrs (half-man, half-goat)
Sirens in Greek Mythology (half-woman and half-bird creatures)
The Original Werewolf in Greek Mythology
Werewolves Across Cultures
Werewolf Syndrome: A Medical Explanation to the Myth
Nagas Across Cultures
The Kumiho (half fox and half woman creatures)
The Sphinx
Criosphinx
Scorpion Men (warriors from Babylonian mythology)
Pooka: an Irish changelings
Domovoi (a shape-shifter in Russian folklore)
Aatxe (Basque mythology; red bull that can shift in a human)
Yech (Native American folklore)
Ijiraat (shapeshifters in Inuit mythology)
Sea creatures
Selkies (Norse mermaids)
Mermaids in many cultures
More about mermaids
Mermen
The Kraken (a sea monster)
Nuckelavee (a Scottish elf who mainly lives in the sea)
Lamiak (sea nymphs in Basque mythology)
Bunyip (sea monster in Aboriginal mythology)
Apkallu/abgal (Sumerian mermen)
An assemblage of myths and legends on water and water creatures
Slavic Water Creatures
The Encantado (water spirits in Ancient Amazon River mythology)
Zin (water spirit in Nigerian folklore)
Qallupilluk (sea creatures in Inuit mythology)
Monsters That Don’t Fit in Any Other Category
Aigamuxa, more details on Aigamuxa
Amphisabaena
Abere
Bonnacon
Myrmidons (ant warriors)
Troll, More on Trolls
Golems
Golems in Judaism
Giants: The Mystery and the Myth (50 min long documentary)
Inupasugjuk (giants in Inuit mythology)
Fomorians (an Irish divine race of giants)
The Minotaur
The Manticore, The Manticore and The Leucrouta
The Ogre
The Orthus (two-headed serpent-tailed dog)
The Windigo
The Windigo Psychosis
Rakshasa (humanoids in Hindu and Buddhist mythology)
Yakshas (warriors in Hindu mythology)
Taqriaqsuit (“Shadow people” in Inuit mythology)
References on Folklore and Mythology Across the Globe
Creatures of Irish Folklore
Folklore and Fairytales
An Overview of Persian Folklore
Filipino Folklore
Myths, Creatures and Folklore
Alaska Folklore
Spanish (Spain) Mythology
Mythical Archive
Mythology Dictionary
List of Medieval and Ancient Monsters
Native American Animals of Myth and Legends
Native American Myths
Bestiary of Ancient Greek Mythology
Mythology, Legend, Folklore and Ghosts
Angels and Demons
List of Sea Creatures
Yoruba Mythology
Ghosts Around the World, Ghosts From A to Z
Strange (Fantastic) Animals of Ancient Egypt
Egyptian Mythology
Creatures from West Africa
On the Legendary Creatures of Africa
Myths, Creatures and Folklore
References on writing a myth or mythical creatures
Writing a MYTHology in your novel?
How to Write a Myth
10 Steps to Creating Realistic Fantasy Creatures
Creating Fantasy Creatures or Alien Species
Legendary Creature Generator
Book Recommendations With Underrated Mythical Creatures
(I have stumbled upon web sites that believed some of these mythical creatures exist today… Especially dragons, in fact. I just had to share the love and scepticism.)
An Italian computer engineer has solved a 150-year-old literary mystery found in a rare edition of Homer’s Odyssey at the University of Chicago Library.
The case of the mystery marginalia began when the University received a donation of Homer’s works from collector M.C. Lang in 2007. The...
This map should be included in every history book.
Oh wow! I’ve been wanting this for ages!
This needs to be in every history book along with a map showing where those nations have been pushed to now.
Map found on the Bureau of Indian Affairs' government webpage. Then and now.
This is pretty interesting.
Question: What's the difference between Helheim and Niflheim?
Anonymous asked:
I’m a little confused about the difference between Helheim and Niflheim. I’ve seen some sources say Helheim is Hela’s hall, and it’s located IN Niflheim (which is what I always assumed). But I’ve also seen some sources and people say that Helheim is separate from Niflheim, and I’ve also seen sources say that Helheim and Niflheim are the same thing?
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